Despite Working For The Celtics, Evan Turner Told Jayson Tatum Luka Doncic Might Be Better Than Him

Coaches often find a way to get their players riled up to see them perform at their best level. However, Evan Turner waited until the end of a game to admit to Jayson Tatum that Luka Doncic was “damn near” better than him. Turner and Jeff Teague revealed the entire details of this incident on the Club 520 Podcast.

Since his early years in the league, Doncic has been one of the best talents. While he’s entered the “best player in the world” debate in the more recent past, Turner recognized the abilities of the Dallas Mavericks superstar when he was merely 21 years old. The Boston Celtics assistant coach even boldly declared that Doncic was nearly better than Tatum… directly to the latter.

During an encounter between the Mavericks and the Celtics, Turner kept singing Doncic’s praise to JT. While the Celtics forward wasn’t in agreeance with his coach, the latter stuck to his take. ET even claimed that the Slovenian would take over the game.

“I was the first one to tell him (Jayson Tatum) how cold Luka is. ‘This man is kinda lazy, he’s just not doing enough for me, he whining’. Bro look at him, he’s the man. Luka him, he not worried about no regular season game. So he said, ‘You sure he’s good?’ I told him, ‘Bro, he’s really him.’ In the clutch, if it gets close, we not gonna win. They call a timeout when they’re down like two points,” Turner recollected.

Turner would eventually also be spot on by calling the move Doncic was going to use while knocking down the game-winner. Immediately after, Turner wasn’t taken aback by the loss. Instead, he turned to Tatum and said, “I told you”. Teague also chimed in by revealing how Turner blatantly admitted that the Mavs guard was a “damn near” player than the Celtics star.

“We celebrating and sh*t, I’m like, ‘JT, that’s some bullsh*t.’ What made it so fire is that we go in there and JT is like, ‘Luka better than me?’ ET was like, ‘Damn near’,” Teague completed the story.

In all probabilities, the matchup being discussed by the two is from the 2021-2022 season. On 7^th November 2021, the Texas side hosted Ime Udoka’s side.

Luka had the rock in his hand as the ball game was tied at 104 apiece. With almost 10 seconds remaining on the game clock, the 2019 Rookie of the Year retained possession to eventually drill the extremely contested step-back three-point shot.

Doncic was the star of that night, despite Tatum’s 32-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Slovenian finished the duel with 33 points, 9 rebounds, & 5 assists, and had an impressive shooting display–12-21 from the field, 50% from 3FG, and 100% from the charity stripe.

Turner was apt by calling Doncic “nearly” better than JT at that point in their careers. Three years on, the debate still rages about the better player. However, with Tatum having a championship to his name, fans are more likely to lean toward the Duke alum as the better of the two.