Michael Cooper Brushes Off Luka Doncic-Larry Bird Comparisons: “Gotta Win Championships First”

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Luka Doncic’s archetype as a high IQ basketball player who can score, rebound and pass at an exceptional level without being an athletic freak has earned him some intriguing comparisons over his NBA career. 

For a lot of people, one player that compares best to the Dallas Mavericks superstar is Larry Bird. It’s not that hard to see given that Doncic, much like Bird, knows how to dictate the game with his skill rather than athleticism. Both are around the same height and have similar well-rounded career numbers as well.

That said, former Los Angeles Lakers guard and five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper, who had a number of heated battles with Bird, is pushing back on the comparison and thinks Doncic has to win championships first before we can compare him to the Boston Celtics legend.

“I don’t see that. This guy’s gotta win a championship first. He might look like Bird a little bit. He might have that tenacity that Bird had, but he ain’t nowhere near Bird’s gamesmanship on the court,” Cooper said. “I mean, the guy can hit some shots, but win some championships first. Win one, then we can kinda start talking about it. Win two, OK, we might make a comparison.”