Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has had a phenomenal start to the season, and Kendrick Perkins has drawn comparisons to Kobe Bryant. On the latest edition of the Road Trippin' podcast, Perkins put Doncic's play and mentality into perspective.

Perkins said Doncic’s mentality makes him the closest thing to Kobe Bryant among the league’s young stars.

“Luka is the closest thing to Kobe Bryant that we’ve seen out of all the young guys that are coming up. He don’t give a damn, honestly, what his teammates feel about him when they’re on the floor. It’s not a shot that he don’t love or don’t think that he can’t make, and he can make them.”

He said that fearlessness is essential for handling the pressure of playing in a big market like Los Angeles.

“On top of that, you have to have the kahunas, the onions, to be able to perform and not give a damn on the stage like LA. There’s certain cities that come with so much pressure, and you gotta have the I-don’t-give-up attitude. He has that.”

Perkins added that Doncic isn’t intimidated by any defender, no matter how elite.

“He don’t give a damn who’s in front of him. It could be Giannis, it could be Bam, it could be the best wing defender in the league. Luka is going to tear your a** up. He’s the closest thing to Kobe, not game-wise, mentality-wise, out of all the young guys that I done seen.”

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He also predicted Doncic’s scoring pace will hold up through the season.

“I don’t think it’s slowing down anytime soon. I think we’re gonna look up come March and April, and he’s still gonna be averaging over that 34 to 35 points a night.”

Luka Doncic has started the year on a significant scoring tear. To start the season, he's averaging 38.3 points, 8.1 assists, 8 rebounds, with 1.9 steals while shooting 42.7% from the three-point range.