Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic have a lot in common. They are both unstoppable in their ways, when they get going, there’s not much a defender can do about it. There’s also the fact that both of them grew up not too far from one another in Greece and Slovenia respectively, both are European stars of the game. The third thing they have in common is that now they have both played under the coaching of Jason Kidd.
Kidd was the main man in Milwaukee when Giannis was making his transformation from a lanky talent to an MVP, and he is now the man coaching Luka’s Dallas Mavericks in their quest to win a playoff series for the first time in this new era. All three were present at All-Star Weekend and found some time to joke around with one another before the game. Giannis and Luka were both on Team LeBron for the All-Star Game, which gave the Greek Freak the ideal opportunity to make fun of Luka.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: “He (Luka) was two hours late to practice.”
Luka Doncic: “No, I wasn’t late, they wouldn’t let me in.”
Jason Kidd: “What’s up?”
Luka Doncic: “They wouldn’t let me in with the car, we had to walk.”
Jason Kidd: “They wouldn’t let y’all in?”
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Late. What happens if you’re late? Oh, you get fined. He (Luka) told me you’re soft now, coach. He told me. All of them told me. He (Luka) said, ‘No J-Kidd, he’s soft, not saying much now. Because me coach, if I was late? I’d be running.”
Jason Kidd: “Don’t say that in front of them.”
Kidd was famously quite stubborn and tough during his Milwaukee reign but his experiences since then seem to have mellowed the NBA legend down a bit. His contribution to making the Mavericks play defense has been massive this season and he now seems to have unlocked Luka in the offense.
