Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) warms up before tip off against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.
Isabella Frias-Imagn Images
Following the departure of LeBron James, the top draw for the Los Angeles Lakers is Luka Doncic, who was infamously acquired from the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning trade in February 2025.
Former Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who coached Doncic in Dallas for the first three seasons of his NBA career, had some pretty special comparisons for him, putting him in company with one of the all-time great NBA players who also played for the Lakers.
“Luka's played with these guys, and he is playing like Magic Johnson. He is rebounding, and he is throwing dimes all over the place,” Carlisle recalled via Yahoo Sports. “He wasn't really even looking to score, and I'm like, ‘God, this guy's like a Magic Johnson type player.'”
He continued:
Article Continues Below
“From a talent standpoint and ability and everything else, he's the most unique player I've ever worked with. He's just so, so good. And he's a killer. He's a killer competitor, too.”
As if comparing Doncic to Magic Johnson wasn't enough, Carlisle took things a step further by comparing him to another NBA Hall of Famer in Larry Bird, his former teammate with the Boston Celtics.
“Guys like Bird, I'm trying to think of somebody today who's like that. Luka, Luka's got a lot of that. He has fun with the game. He talks s***. He's brash, all that kind of stuff,” Carlisle said. “Larry did it a little more under his breath at times. Other times he stepped up, he got in fights and other stuff like that, but as a competitor, I put him up there with Jordan and all the greatest guys, Russell.”