Luka Doncic has been compared to many NBA players, and with his incredible recent performances, the latest comparison is to a Lakers legend close to his heart.
Kendrick Perkins says the Luka-Kobe Bryant comparison is undeniable.
“Luka Doncic is already a top-10 offensive player in the history of the game,” Perkins said. “You can’t name me 10 players that you would take over him offensively, as far as getting a bucket or orchestrating or being the system offensively.
“… Everyone has been trying to adapt this whole thing of all these young players of the ‘Mamba Mentality.’ Luka is the closest thing to Kobe Bryant that we’ve seen out of all the young guys that are coming up. Why? Because he don’t give a damn, and when I say ‘Don’t give a damn,’ he don’t give a damn honestly what his teammates — how they feel about him when they’re on the floor. Is not a shot that he don’t love or don’t think that he can’t make, and he can make them. And on top of that, you have to have the cajones, the onions, to be able to perform and not give a damn on a stage like L.A. Because we all know — in certain cities, they come with so much pressure, and you gotta have the ‘I don’t give a’ attitude. He has that.”
New Lakers recruit Ziaire Williams also had recent praise for Luka.
“It’s crazy. It’s unbelievable,” Williams said of his Lakers’ teammate. “The defensive mindset in me is always like why are they not blitzing him, or why are they not doubling him? Like, why are they just letting him just walk to his spot and just do whatever he wants out there? But they’re trying. He’s just that good and he just makes it look that easy.”
Williams has had his own battles with Doncic in the past, but he is happy to be on the same team now.
“He’s unbelievable man, even a better person. And yeah, I’m happy to be on his side, for sure.”