Jason Kidd: Luka Doncic could become greatest player in Mavs history with title

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd feels that if Luka Doncic were to win an NBA title later this month, the Slovenian could become the greatest player in the history of the franchise.

Kidd played for the Mavericks the last time the team was in the NBA Finals back in 2011. Led by German big man Dirk Nowitzki — who is regarded as one of the best players ever to don a Mavericks jersey — Dallas beat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals, and Kidd averaged 7.7 points and 6.3 assists per contest during the championship series.

For as great as Nowitzki was at the height of his powers, if Doncic can carry over his play from the first three rounds of the 2024 NBA Playoffs into the NBA Finals and lead Dallas to a title, he seemingly would have a solid case for being the best Maverick of all time.

The 25-year-old has been one of the top performers of the playoffs thus far, as across 17 games with Dallas, he is averaging 28.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In the Mavericks’ most recent playoff game — Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves — Doncic put Dallas on his back on the offensive end of the floor.

He was unstoppable from a scoring standpoint, as he dropped 36 points while shooting 14-of-22 from the floor and 6-of-10 from 3-point range in a game the Mavericks came out on top by a final score of 124-103 to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.

Doncic will play in an NBA Finals game for the first time in his pro career on Thursday, when the Mavericks are set to face off against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

Following Game 1, Game 2 will take place on Sunday before the series moves to Dallas for Games 3 and 4.

Mavericks fans are surely hoping that Doncic can lead Dallas to its second title in franchise history and strengthen his case as the team’s greatest player ever.