The Dallas Mavericks have retooled their roster this offseason as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. Kyrie Irving signed a long-term deal, and now that he and Luka Doncic will have a complete season on the court together, many people believe that the Mavericks can make some real noise in the Western Conference.
But from an individual standpoint, Ex-Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle expects Doncic to have the best season of his young career as he predicts the 24-year-old to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2024.
“I think Luka’s going to be the MVP this year,” Carlisle told DallasBasketball.com “I think he and Kyrie (Irving) are going to play great.”
Kevin Durant Shouts Out Luka Doncic
Luka has transformed himself into one of the “unicorns” of the NBA because he can score, pass, and rebound at such an efficient clip. Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, a unicorn in his own right, admits that he was not a fan of Doncic’s game when he first came into the league, but it has grown on him over time.
“He plays so slow… it is hard because he goes from slow to fast so easily and he is just so smooth with it. I love his game,” Durant said during an episode of his podcast “The ETCs.”
“At first, I did not, when he first came into the league because I’m like all he does is step back threes, and they be short as hell. He is shooting like 27%-30% from the three-point line early on. I’m like this is the guy? But playing against someone I think they beat us by 40 when I was with Golden State, and he was controlling every possession, and I was like, ‘Yeah he nice.’ His game just started expanding.”
Broussard: Luka Better Than Durant
Luka could go down as one of the best talents the NBA has ever seen. But that talent level has not translated to postseason success. The Mavericks got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons before making the Western Conference Finals in 2022, where they fell to the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Some thought that could be the turning point for the Mavericks to become a legit contender, but this season they finished 11th in the Western Conference standings and did not qualify for the play-in tournament.
But despite his limited success in the postseason, NBA analyst Chris Broussard believes Luka is already better than Durant, a two-time NBA Finals MVP.
“He is better than Kevin Durant… Now he is better, I do not think people debate that. Maybe some. Giannis is the best player in the world, and Luka is the second-best player in the world. Luka is a better all-around player,” Broussard said on the November 8 episode of First Things First.
“KD is a better defender but it’s not like KD was an all-league type of defender. He’s (KD) obviously a better shooter but I don’t know if he’s a better scorer. Luka is at 26.74 for his career and KD is at 27.2. Luka is gonna up. He’s a better passer, controls the game better than KD does, and is a better rebounder. Obviously, KD has a title, but he has never led his own team to a championship. I think Luka will do that multiple times.”
Is Luka on track to have a better career than KD?
“Absolutely. He’s better than Kevin Durant [now]. Giannis is the best player in the world. Luka is second. … KD has never led his own team to a championship, and I think Luka will – multiple times.” — @Chris_Broussard
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Ex-Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle Makes Bold Luka Doncic Prediction