Luka Doncic's major pet peeve revealed by Mavs coach Jason Kidd: "You talk about Barcelona"
Luka Doncic's coach and former NBA player Jason Kidd revealed his star player's pet peeve. In a conversation with Sam Amick from The Athletic, the Dallas Mavericks coach said that talking about Barcelona gets his star player talking.
Doncic played for Real Madrid from 2015 to 2018 and became a big part of the fierce battle between Real Madrid and the Barcelona basketball club.
"You want to get Luka to talk, you talk Real Madrid," Kidd said of Doncic. "If you want to piss him off, you talk about Barcelona. If you know about the rivalry with Real Madrid and Barcelona, you know how to poke the bear a little bit.”
Kidd added that he had earlier joked with Doncic saying he would take the coaching job for Barcelona:
"So today, I'm joking with him, and I go, 'Man, I think I'm gonna take the Barcelona job. Did you see how they sacked the manager (on Friday)?'”
Barcelona FC sacked manager Xavi Hernandez on Friday.
Doncic signed a five-year contract with the club when he was still 13 years old. He started playing for the team in 2015 and won several accolades with the club. He became a Euro League Champion in 2018 and won the Euro League MVP in the same year.
Jason Kidd compares Luka Doncic to LeBron James
Being compared to LeBron James is one of the biggest compliments any NBA player can boast in their career. Luka Doncic has been lucky in that regard. His game, minus his defense, has often been compared to his childhood hero, LeBron James.
Since Jason Kidd took over the Mavs' coaching job, he has seen Doncic elevate his offense and make unthinkable passes on the floor. In the interview with Sam Amick, Kidd heaped massive praise for the Mavs’ point guard, comparing his IQ with the LA Lakers star.
“The IQ is extremely high. He can take and make any shot. He can pass like no other. LeBron might be a little bit better defensively, and understand passing lanes [better]. But when you talk about the stage, Ky [Irving], Luka, Dirk [Nowitzki], the great ones aren't scared,” Kidd said.
Since James has been drafted into the NBA, very few players have had the luxury of being compared to him. However, none have come close to the four-time NBA champion's success in his career.
However, Doncic has been the closest to him regarding reading the game and carrying the team in the postseason. With the Mavericks taking a 2-0 lead, it will be interesting to see if Mavs and Doncic can make it to the NBA finals.