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Jason Kidd Says Luka Doncic is Better Than Mavericks Legend Dirk Nowitzki

Doncic's coach thinks extremely highly of him.

Tim Capurso

Jason Kidd Says Luka Doncic is Better Than Mavericks Legend Dirk Nowitzki
Jason Kidd Says Luka Doncic is Better Than Mavericks Legend Dirk Nowitzki /
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Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić etched his name into the history books this past Friday, as he scored 73 points, tied-for the fourth-highest scoring output in NBA history. The incredible effort put Dončić's name up with some of the best players to have ever taken the court. 

But Dončić’s coach Jason Kidd, an NBA great himself, doesn’t just believe that the Mavericks guard is among the best players to have played the game. Kidd believes Dončić is already better than one such former player, Dirk Nowitzki, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and Mavericks legend. 

The Mavericks coach shared his strong opinion on Dončić during a Tuesday appearance on The Downbeat on 97.1 The Freak. 

“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it, you know, for as long as I’m here. You can’t take this young man for granted. He’s better than Dirk. He’s in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it. LeBron, Kobe,” Kidd said.  

This is certainly lofty praise, given that the players Kidd mentioned have a combined 16 NBA Finals rings—and Dončić has yet to even advance to one. When pressed as to how he could say Dončić is better than Nowitzki, Kidd replied by citing Michael Jordan’s Bulls’ struggles early in his career, as well as the Mavericks star’s propensity for breaking records at the young age of 24.   

Back in December, Dončić became the sixth-youngest player to reach 10,000 career points. Last week, he scored the aforementioned 73 points. And on Monday night, he joined James as the only players in NBA history to record 10,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists before turning 25. 

It's no wonder why Kidd thinks so highly of Dončić. 

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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