By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has had a pleasure to play or work with a lot of legends during his long basketball career. And in Luka Doncic he sees a bit of a few European legends:
“There’s a little (Toni) Kukoc, there’s a little of (Manu) Ginobili, there’s a little of (Drazen) Petrovic. Those guys had wide-ranging skills. They could all score, they could all make plays. They could all make plays at both ends of the floor. That said, Luka is very much his own man. He’s very much an original on a lot of levels”, Carlisle said, per Mavs’ Dwain Price.
It actually all started when asked if he sees similarities between Doncic and the Celtics legend Larry Bird, and Carlisle was positive on that too:
“There’s are certain similarities. Guys like that anticipate and see things coming before they happen. And at times that could get away from you a little bit and get a little too expeditious. But being a rookie in this league, it’s all part of it. It’s a part of that earning.”
He did, however, mention that they aren’t exactly the same position: “Luka is a point guard. Larry had a lot of the point guard attributes playing the small forward position, so he was one of the first real playmakers at the three position in the history of the league and did it with flair and did it with amazing vision and anticipation.”