A former NFL star recently made some statements comparing Luka Doncic with Dirk Nowitzki that have the NBA world engaged in a heated debate. As most fans should be aware, Luka and the Dallas Mavericks made a deep postseason push this season and got all the way to the 2024 NBA Finals. However, they ended up losing and were eliminated by the Boston Celtics within 5 games.
Although one could argue that Luka still deserves a lot of credit for his performances in the playoffs, there are also others who criticize him. With that being said, let us take a closer look at one such perspective and find out if there is any validity to these claims.
Chris Canty thinks Luka Doncic cannot be the leader of a championship team
Chris Canty is a former NFL star who has also begun discussing basketball-related topics after retiring. During a recent podcast, Canty made some critical statements against Luka Doncic and claimed that the Mavs star could not be compared to Dirk Nowitzki and that Kevin Durant would be a better comparison.
“I think Luka Doncic is closer to Kevin Durant than he is Dirk Nowitzki…We never questioned Dirk Nowitzki’s worth ethic. We never questioned his commitment to trying to improve his body and his game. We never questioned his disposition and mentality. We’re questioning all of those things with Luka. Those aren’t recent questions…These are things that have been coming up.”
Chris Canty slams Luka Doncic’s work ethic
“I think Luka Dončić is closer to Kevin Durant than he is Dirk Nowitzki”
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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 18, 2024
Canty added, “These were never questions for Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown and that’s why that I don’t know if Luka Doncic is going to be able to win a championship as the leader on a team. Now can he be the best player on a championship team? Yes, but I don’t think that he’s the guy that can be your leader in terms of setting the culture for your team to get over the hump and be a champion.”
This is certainly an interesting analogy. Although Kevin Durant is considered by many to be the better all-time player when compared to Dirk, he was never the leader of a championship team. While he might have been the best player on the Golden State Warriors during the peak of the dynasty, Steph Curry was always considered their leader.
Is there any chance for the Dallas Mavericks to make it to the NBA Finals once again?
Since Luka Doncic is relatively young and still has a few years before entering his prime, it is too soon to claim that he is not leadership material. However, there is some basis to these claims as the 2024 NBA Finals proved. Doncic fouled out of a must-win Game 3 and was frequently complaining about foul calls throughout the series.
Given that Kyrie Irving is rapidly approaching the back end of his career, the Mavericks do not have a large window to win an NBA championship. If they are able to improve their chemistry and grow from the mistakes they made in this year’s finals, they could certainly make it to the finals once again and even win. However, only time will tell if Canty’s statements on Luka Doncic hold much truth to them.
