George Karl Says He’s ‘Not A Big Fan’ Of Luka Doncic

“I’m not a big fan of Luka,” Karl said. “I just don’t like him palming the ball all the time and it’s just not my style. I want him to play more together.”

Doncic is one of the top players in the NBA. He averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists for the Mavericks this season while shooting 48.7% from the field, 38.2% from beyond the arc and 78.6% from the free-throw line. 

Doncic was first in the NBA in points, first in points per game, third in assists, second in assists per game and fourth in player efficiency rating. 

The Mavericks are up 3-2 on the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. 

Karl is one of the most disliked coaches in NBA history. His former players, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith and Kenyon Martin, have openly spoken negatively about him. The late great Kobe Bryant wasn’t a fan of Karl either. 

Karl also made Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan angry during the 1996 NBA Finals. Jordan was furious when Karl didn’t say hello to him when the two were at the same spot for dinner.

“He walked right past me,” Jordan said in The Last Dance documentary. “I say, ‘Really? So that’s how he’s gonna play it.’ It’s a crock of sh-t. We went to Carolina, we know Dean Smith, I’ve seen him in the summer, we play golf. You gonna do this? Okay, fine. 

“That’s all I needed. That’s all I needed for him to do that and it became personal with me.”

Jordan and the Bulls beat Karl and the Seattle SuperSonics in six games. Jordan won the 1996 NBA Finals MVP Award. He averaged 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.2 blocks in the series.