Amid their embattled history, Rick Carlisle still has that unwavering support for Luka Doncic.
The former Dallas Mavericks head coach even told Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated that he believes that the superstar can capture the league MVP for the next 2023-24 season.
“I think Luka’s going to be the MVP this year,” Carlisle said, who now handles the Indiana Pacers. “I think he and Kyrie (Irving) are going to play great.”
Doncic posted the best individual numbers of his career in the NBA last season, averaging a career-best 32.4 points to go with 8.6 boards and 8.0 assists en route to capturing his fourth All-NBA selection.
But amid another personal brilliance, he and the Mavs underperformed and were rocked by a nightmarish campaign that barred them from reaching the postseason in a disappointing fashion. With this, Doncic failed to win his first league MVP – contrasting the NBA.com GM survey last year which announced him as the heavy favorite to hoist the recognition.
Still, Carlisle holds a high optimism that Doncic is on his track to finally ascend as being the best of all the best.
Carlisle helped Doncic to carve a Top-4 place in the MVP race last 2019-20 season that still stands as the highest finish on the said award for the Slovenian phenom.
“I’m sure (Doncic is) doing all the right things for him,” Carlisle added. “He’s been on the cusp of being the best player in the world. He’s right there, and I think he’s going to be the MVP this year.”
Carlisle served as the mentor of Doncic in his first three seasons in the association. The soon Hall of Fame coach ultimately opted to leave Dallas at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season after the Mavericks were eliminated by the L.A. Clippers in the seven-game set of their first-round series.
