Rick Carlisle doesn’t toss around comparisons like this lightly. But after coaching Luka Doncic in Dallas and watching the star up close from the first pickup runs to the early weeks of the season, Carlisle came away convinced he’d seen something rare.
On Draymond Green’s podcast, the Pacers head coach said Doncic flashed his identity almost immediately when he arrived with the Mavericks. Carlisle recalled that first day of pickup games, when Dallas had a veteran group that included DeAndre Jordan, Wes Matthews, Harrison Barnes “who won a championship with you,” and other experienced players.
“Luka played with these guys, and he is playing like Magic Johnson. He is rebounding, and he is throwing dimes all over the He wasn’t really even looking to score, and I’m like, ‘God, this guy’s like a Magic Johnson type player.'”
Carlisle said the early mystery wasn’t talent. It was where Doncic fit.
At nearly 6’8”, Carlisle initially figured he might be a wing. Doncic had a different idea.
“After eight or 10 games, we put him at point and, you know, we put Dennis Smith off the ball and um, the rest is pretty much history,” Carlisle said.
That move helped unlock what Carlisle described as an historic start.
“I mean, he was historic in his first three years. And, you know, and I said this during the year, you know, from a talent standpoint and ability and everything else, he’s the most unique player I’ve ever worked with.”
Carlisle didn’t stop there. He painted Doncic as more than a gifted playmaker, calling him a fierce problem for anyone trying to beat him.
“I mean, he’s just so good. And he’s a killer, you know?
He’s a killer competitor, too. You put the right guys around him, and you know I defy you to figure out a way to beat him because he is smart as hell and he knows every trick in the book, and he knows how to win,” Carlisle added on what makes Doncic so unique.
The numbers from Doncic’s first three seasons back up the praise. He averaged 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.7 assists while shooting 45.7% from the field and 33.1% from behind the three-point line. He also made two All-Star teams in that span.
Later in the conversation, Carlisle brought up another legend while talking about the kind of edge Doncic brings. This time, the name was Larry Bird.
“Guys like Bird, I’m trying to think of somebody today who’s like that. Luka, Luka’s got a lot of that.
He has fun with the game. He talks s-t.
He’s brash, all that kind of stuff.”
“Larry did it a little more under his breath at times. Other times he stepped up, he got in fights and other stuff like that, but as a competitor, I put him up there with Jordan and all the greatest guys, Russell,” said Carlisle on Bird.
Carlisle’s view is pretty clear: Doncic blends the feel of Magic Johnson with the fire of Larry Bird. The one gap, of course, is the hardware. Bird and Johnson had three championships each by the time they were 27, which is Doncic’s age now.
Whether Doncic reaches that same level is still the open question. But with MVP talk following him and Carlisle putting him in such rare company, it’s easy to see why the 27-year-old is viewed as the centerpiece of the Lakers franchise.
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