Luka Doncic channels inner Kobe Bryant by trash-talking Magic's German players in their language

Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic dominated the shorthanded Orlando Magic during Sunday's 108-85 home win. During the contest, he channeled LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's iconic multilingual trash-talking approach with the Magic's German players.

Doncic finished with a game-high 32 points, including 25 points in the first half, nine rebounds, seven assists and five 3-pointers, shooting 50.0%. Meanwhile, Dallas cruised to a blowout victory over an Orlando squad playing without its top player, star forward Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique).

The undermanned Magic started two German players, forward Franz Wagner and rookie Tristan da Silva, while German big man Moritz Wagner came off the bench. Amid the lopsided matchup, Doncic trash-talked some of them in their native language.

The tactic elicited comparisons to Bryant, who was known for finding innovative ways to get inside his opponents' heads. The Hall of Famer famously used to learn his foreign-born adversaries' languages for trash-talking purposes.

Most notably, Bryant exchanged jabs in Spanish with Argentinian forward Luis Scola during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

During Sunday's postgame interview, Luka Doncic was asked about dissing Orlando's German players in their mother tongue. He quipped that after hearing them speaking in German, he decided to showcase the "little bit of" German he learned in school.

"I mean, five players, two of them were German. I heard them talking in German, so I said some things in German, you know," Doncic said. "I know German a little bit."

Afterward, Doncic comically declined to share which words he said, telling reporters to ask his German teammate Maxi Kleber instead.

However, the five-time All-Star clarified that he has no ill will toward Germany, citing the country's impressive 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medal.

"I think there's a lot of potential, you know. Germany was World Cup champion, which is an amazing accomplishment," Doncic said. "So, I think they have a bright, bright future there."

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Jason Kidd raves about Luka Doncic's two-way performance against Magic

Dallas coach Jason Kidd was among those impressed with Luka Doncic's standout play against Orlando.

During his postgame interview, Kidd lauded Doncic's energy and leadership.

"I thought his energy was great. It was in the right place, and I thought, as our leader, he set the tone right off the bat, and I thought the guys followed," Kidd said.

Kidd added that Doncic delivered his top two-way performance of the early season.

"I thought tonight was the first time he dominated on both ends, offense and defense," Kidd said.

Through six outings, Luka Doncic is averaging 28.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 3.2 3-pointers per game, shooting 40.4%.

Dallas (4-2) continues its homestand on Monday against the Indiana Pacers (2-4).

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