Mavericks Assistant Offers Unique View on LeBron James vs. Luka Doncic

LeBron James (left) and Luka Doncic

Getty LeBron James (left) and Luka Doncic

There’s no one in the league who quite has the experience with one of the all-time greats of the NBA, LeBron James of the Lakers, and one of the potential greats, Luka Doncic, quite like Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley. After all, it was only this summer that Dudley hung up his high tops and became a coach, a move that distressed several of his teammates with the Lakers, for whom he’d played (sparingly) for the past two seasons.

Among those teammates was James himself, who was not happy that the Lakers did not keep Dudley around last summer.

Now two months into his stint with head coach Jason Kidd (who was an assistant with the Lakers) and the Mavericks, Dudley was asked about a comparison between James and Dallas superstar Luka Doncic.

“Both, especially early on in their career, are winners,” Dudley told the Dallas Morning News. “Luka winning in Europe, being so advanced at such a young age. With Kobe [Bryant], it took him four or five years. Luka came in and is already one of the best players in the league, which is very rare. I think common things are unselfishness, wanting to pass and make other players better. Both big guys who can handle the ball. I mean, as good as Luka is, he still has a long way to go, which is a great thing for him.”


LeBron James Went to the NBA Finals When he was 22

Indeed, at age 22, Doncic is only scratching the surface of his potential. He has two All-Star appearances and is averaging 25.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists, clearly on his way to another All-Star selection if he can stay healthy (he’s been battling an ankle injury for a month now). Doncic missed the Mavs’ matchup against the Lakers on Wednesday.

By comparison, though, Doncic has never helped lead the Mavericks out of the first round of the playoffs. In his 22-year-old season, James dragged a ragtag bunch of Cleveland Cavaliers to a remarkable upset over the Pistons and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. The team was promptly swept by the Spurs, but the run showed what James was capable of, even with an inferior team around him.

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Doncic has not yet done that in the NBA. Said Dudley, when asked how Luka could improve:

Learning how to win. The NBA is different. Luka, like a lot of players, is going to get their numbers — the 20 points, the 10 rebounds, the 7 assists. The question is: How do you get it, and in what flow of the game? Is it impactful? Because sometimes the numbers alone aren’t impactful.

He has to instill confidence in shooters. Right now, we’re shooting them badly. Chris Paul has that influence, like ‘Hey, I’m going to get an easy one, get you going. I’m going to call a play for you, even though I might be hot.’

That’s something Luka has to work and balance — playing the game better for winning the game. I don’t mean just actually winning a basketball game, because there’s a game within a game. That’s something he’ll become comfortable with. Guys like J-Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Steven Nash, it takes them four or five years. We’re just trying to speed the process up.


Dudley Settling Into Coaching Role

As for Dudley, he is enjoying his time with the Mavericks. There was some controversy over his departure for the Lakers, as James and others wanted to keep him on the roster. But ownership did not want to waste a roster space on Dudley, who appeared in just 57 regular-season games over two seasons.

“You never know when you’re going to start your second career, so when it happened, it was so shocking,” Dudley said. “At the same time, I think I was just destined to be here with J-Kidd, to be on the front of the bench.”

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