In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to a shocking victory in the NBA Finals, crushing a LeBron-led Heat team in 6 games.
It’s been over a decade since that moment, but the Mavs have plenty to be happy about. With young star Luka Doncic, and his sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, the team is easily one of the West’s most dangerous, and many are feeling good about their future — including Nowitzki himself.
Despite the struggles this season has brought, Dirk remains confident that better days will come for his franchise.
Mavs special adviser @swish41 on the struggles of this season’s team. “I don’t think we’ve seen how good this team can be.”
Mavs special adviser @swish41 on the struggles of this season’s team. “I don’t think we’ve seen how good this team can be.”
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 4, 2022
With a 19-18 record so far, the Mavs have not quite met expectations this season. Inconsistency on both ends of the floor is largely to blame.
Still, the presence of Luka alone changes everything for the team. According to Dirk, nobody even had a clue he’d be this good.
When we drafted him, I think we didn’t know what to expect from him. We had no idea he was going to be this good. How he reads the game, how big he is, his shot is a lot better than we thought, his in-between game, the runners the post ups. He is the full package at such a young age, and it’s been incredible to watch for me, and obviously all the Mavs fans, how much he knows the game and how much he sees at a young age. I feel like it usually comes with experience after playing in the league for five, six, seven, eight years. But the way he reads the game is on another level, so I’m super happy the Mavs signed him to an extension, and we’ll have him around for a long, long time.
Doncic, 22, has emerged as one of the best scorers in basketball and it has put the Mavericks back on the map of relevancy in the West. Clearly, the 2x All-Star is going to be their leader for years to come.
But if the Mavs really want to maximize the Doncic era, they’re going to have to surround him with the right kind of talent. At this point, it remains to be seen if things can work with the current roster.
