Stephen A. Smith says that Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is the best white player to enter the NBA since Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.
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After struggling mightily to start their 2020-21 NBA campaign off, the Dallas Mavericks seem to have pulled themselves together, winning 8 of their last 10 bouts. In this span of games, Luka Doncic has been averaging 31.7 points, 8 assists, and 7.6 rebounds per game, all while shooting 52% from the field and 46% from beyond the arc.
Doncic is starting to live up to the preseason MVP hype after all as he’s been leading the Mavericks every step of the way. Following a win over the Orlando Magic, the Mavs are currently boasting an above .500 record of 17-16.
With Doncic playing like an MVP at the moment, the 22 year old is bound to have fans and analysts break down every spec of detail surrounding his game. Stephen A. Smith followed suit and has drawn an interesting comparison between Luka and a Hall-of-Famer.
Stephen A. Smith compares Luka Doncic to Larry Bird
Coincidentally, Luka Doncic’s 22nd birthday comes right around the time of this Dallas Mavericks hot stretch of games. This has warranted the entirety of NBA media to solely focus on the 2x All-Star.
Stephen A. Smith has dedicated an entire segment to Luka to let everybody know what his opinion is on the Slovenian national. “Luka Doncic is the baddest white dude since Larry Bird.”
The Luka-Bird comparison has been floating around ever since the former’s rookie season commenced. A large component in this is of course, the tone of their skin. However, the two do share some similarities when it comes to their playstyle. Both Doncic and Bird have showcased their shooting ability and their lack of athleticism.
Perhaps the biggest similarity between the two is their trickery with the ball. Both are extraordinary passers who get the rock to their teammate in some of the most creative ways possible. Stephen A. Smith isn’t the only one who believes Luka’s the second coming of Larry Bird.
Shannon Sharpe has also compared the two saying, “Luka is the closest thing to Larry that we’ve seen.” when asked about how he feels when being compared to the 3x Celtics champion, Doncic said, “You can’t compare me to Larry Bird. There’s many more games to go.”
