Dirk Nowitzki opened up on Luka Doncic‘s incredible performances and potential while speaking to Kevin Hart during the Mavericks vs. Heat broadcast on ESPN. Dirk joked about being mad at Luka for breaking his franchise records before showering the 25-year-old guard with praise.
“Man, I’m so mad. He’s breaking every one of my records, man! Hahaha, I am thrilled for him obviously. My last year was his first year in the league and it was just great to see and get to know him a little bit. We saw in Year 1 that the sky is the limit for him but I honestly didn’t think he could go there.”
Nowitzki gushed over Luka’s ability on the court, saying he has no offensive flaws and revealing he is continuously shocked at how Luka improves his game every season.
“He has no offensive holes in his game. He can do it all, he can shoot the step back, he can go both ways, he can post, he’s got the floater, he’s got all the horse shots, he’s got the full package. It’s been tremendous to watch. Every year I am saying that this kid can’t possibly get better and next year comes back with more in his repertoire. It’s been incredible to watch him in his first couple years in the NBA and hopefully, Mavs fans enjoy him for a long, long time.”
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Luka is re-writing the Mavericks record books, but he’s miles away from some of the all-time records that Dirk set for the franchise over a 21-year career. Nowitzki’s single-franchise scoring record of 31,560 points with Dallas should be considered a legendary feat on its own. Despite Doncic’s scoring prowess, it’s unlikely he will match those all-time records unless he stays in the NBA with Dallas for a very long time.
Luka recently broke the team’s single-season scoring record, surpassing Mark Agguire with 2,330 points. He dropped 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in the Mavericks 111-92 win over the Heat, improving the team’s record to 16-1 in the last 17 games Luka has played.
The Mavericks have sealed a No. 5 or 4 seed finish in the West this season, a remarkable achievement considering they spent most of the season fighting to get out of the No. 8 seed.
Mark Cuban Believes Doncic Is Better Than Dirk
Mark Cuban recently revealed that he thinks Luka is a better player than Dirk, something Cuban says is a strong belief of Nowitzki as well.
“Yes. No disrespect to Dirk, he knows I love him to death. Dirty and I go way way back, but Dirk will be the first one to tell you that Luka is better.”
Luka is averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists this season, reaching individual highs that no player in Dallas previously has. Even though Nowitzki is a former league MVP, his statistical production was never as off the charts as Luka’s this season.
He’s going to win the scoring title while also averaging over nine rebounds and nine assists; this is a historic offensive production.
Doncic has a long way to go before he can be considered better than Dirk all-time, but there’s no arguing against the fact that he’s on the right track. Unless he brings a championship to Dallas, he’ll not replace Dirk as the franchise GOAT in the eyes of 90% of the fans anyway.
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