Luka Dončić may be on his way to becoming one of the greatest NBA players of all time but he’s no Larry Bird.
At least that’s what former Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce said when asked if Dončić is the next Bird.
“Can we stop with this?” Pierce said on Undisputed. “Let’s stop with the comparisons here.”
“I think Luka is carving out his own niche,” Pierce continued. “He’s on his way to becoming an all-time great but we’re talking about one of the top 5 or 10 players to ever play the game.
“Bird changed the game, he made us watch basketball.”
.@PaulPierce34 says STOP with the Luka & Larry Bird comparisons:
"We're talking about one of the Top 5 or 10 players to ever play the game." pic.twitter.com/h06BlZMjqC
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 21, 2024
Pierce did feel like it was fairer to compare Dončić to different NBA great, LeBron James.
“He’s the European version of LeBron James, just less athletic than LeBron,” said Pierce. “It should be an honor for Luka to be in the same comparison as Bird.”
When you break down their careers, it’s not even close. Bird is certainly the better player and, as Pierce pointed out, was already an NBA champion two years into his career, with several more NBA championships and MVP trophies ahead.
Perhaps the better comparison is to another Dallas Mavericks great, Dirk Nowitzki. Both came from Europe, both were scoring machines and, maybe soon, both will have championships.
