Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic hilariously compared himself to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady during his surprise visit to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.
While interacting with children at the facility, Doncic got his hands on a football and jokingly claimed he had the skillset to be an elite quarterback.
“I’ll be the greatest quarterback ever,” Doncic said, before throwing a ball off target.
The Slovenian then blamed the ball, and proceeded to compare himself to Brady and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“That’s a bad ball,” Doncic joked. “I’m a mix between Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson.”
Luka Doncic Primed to Win MVP?
Unlike Brady and Jackson, who won a joint five NFL MVP awards, Doncic has yet to capture the NBA’s most prestigious regular-season award. The playmaking guard came closest in the 2023-24 season when he finished third behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and fourth in the 2019-20 season as a sophomore.
Last season, Doncic did not meet the 65-game threshold to qualify for regular-season awards, as he played only 50 games combined for the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers. Many analysts believed that Doncic’s midseason trade did not help his rhythm, which ultimately contributed to the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This season, though, Doncic can use the entire 82-game gauntlet to make his case to win his first MVP award, while leading the Lakers back to relevance.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin feels that Doncic is primed to win his first MVP award, citing his offseason physical transformation.
‘Best Version’ of Luka Incoming?
“First, he transformed his body with a rigorous workout and dietary regimen. Then he signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers. And he topped it all off by leading Slovenia to the quarterfinals at EuroBasket, averaging 34.7 points per game in the international competition,” wrote McMenamin.
“Is the 26-year-old Doncic — with the third-highest regular-season scoring average and second-highest postseason scoring average in league history — ready to continue his trajectory and earn his first MVP along the way?”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick also raved about Doncic’s commitment to excellence and explained why he expects a monster year from his star guard.
“I get the sense from talking to him all summer, spending time with him, not only just here but at the Backstreet Boys (concert in Las Vegas) is that this is his life now,” Redick said of Doncic, via NBA.com.
“This is his routine. This is just a daily commitment to the new standard that he set for himself. … I expect the best version of Luka, and it’s my job as a coach to bring that out on a daily basis.”
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