Jason Kidd boldly backs Luka Doncic's shot at Mavericks' 'greatest ever' title

Luka Doncic is on his way to becoming the greatest Dallas Mavericks player ever and Jason Kidd agreed with the possibility. Doncic is one of the best players of his generation, if not the best, and the 2024 NBA Finals present him with the golden opportunity to win his first Larry O’Brien trophy.

While Doncic is still some way from being crowned the best Mavericks player ever, a title would go a long way in taking him closer to Dirk Nowitzki, who is undoubtedly the best player to play for the franchise so far.

Jason Kidd, who is the current coach of Dallas, was a teammate of Nowitzki when they won the Mavs’ only NBA title in 2011. Before the 2024 Finals, Kidd sat down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Richard Jefferson to talk about the upcoming series.

Andrews asked Kidd if Doncic had a claim at becoming the “greatest Maverick ever” if they won a title this year. The Mavs coach had a simple yet definitive response:

“Yes.”

Dirk Nowitzki spent his entire 21 NBA seasons in Dallas and won one title in 2011. He was crowned the Ginals MVP and was the regular-season MVP in 2007. He was also selected to 14 All-Star teams and made 12 All-NBA teams. He was a part of the league’s 75th anniversary team and his jersey (41) is retired by the Mavericks.

Nowitzki is sixth on the all-time scoring list with 31,560 points. He is the first non-American on the list.

While Luka Doncic has been prolific so far, he is some way off in matching Nowitzki’s accolades. Doncic hasn’t won any major trophy so far other than the Rookie of the Year award in 2019. He has, however, made every All-Star team (five) and All-NBA first team (five) apart from his rookie season.

Jason Kidd said he would come off the bench behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have proven to be nearly unstoppable in the 2024 NBA Playoffs and have often taken over games in the final quarter. They have been the best backcourt by some margin and it won't be wrong to say the Dallas Mavericks’ hopes of winning a title rely on them.

In the same ESPN interview, Dallas coach Jason Kidd was asked who would come off the bench if the three of them played on the same team. Kidd said:

“Me. I am coming off the bench. I am gonna come off the bench but it’s not who starts but who finishes. So, all three of us will finish, ’cause you cannot sit Luka or Kai.”

There’s no doubt that Jason Kidd and all of Dallas will be pinning their hopes on Irving and Doncic. Will the dynamic duo be able to upset the favorites Boston Celtics? We don’t have to wait long for the answer as Game 1 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.