- Luka Doncic thinks Dirk Nowitzki would beat him 1-on-1 if they were both 23
- Nowitzki and Doncic might be the two greatest players in Mavericks history
- Luka is hoping to win a title in Dallas as Dirk did
Luka Doncic believes Dirk Nowitzki would beat him if they played 1-on-1 when they were both 23 years old. Doncic was reacting to a question asked by a Dallas Mavericks fan account on the topic, and he rather humbly went with the German.
Dirk
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) October 1, 2023
While Luka seems to believe he’d lose, I’m not exactly sure who’d come out victorious here. That is down to the fact that they both don’t have a shot at stopping the other.
Doncic can’t really bother the 7’0″ Nowitzki in the post while there isn’t much that Dirk can do when Luka drives to the basket. It’ll come down to who just happens to miss a very makeable shot.
Comparing Luka Doncic And Dirk Nowitzki At 23
Dirk’s age-23 season was 2001-02, and it was when he became an All-Star for the first time. The German averaged 23.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game to make the All-NBA Second Team as well.
Doncic’s age-23 season, meanwhile, was 2022-23, where he averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He made the All-NBA First Team for the fourth season in a row, a remarkable achievement.
It is clear Doncic was the better player at the same age. If he keeps this up, he has a great shot at eclipsing Nowitzki as the greatest player in franchise history, provided he wins a championship along the way.
Dirk went on one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history in 2011 to win his and the franchise’s only title to date. Doncic is capable of doing something along those lines, but until he does it, he’ll always be second-best to Nowitzki.
Can Luka Doncic And The Mavericks Turn Things Around?
Doncic and the Mavs made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2022, and you’d have thought they’d build on from it and get even better in 2022-23. Instead of improving, though, they suffered a big blow as Jalen Brunson departed in free agency.
With the team being good but not great, Dallas gambled by trading for Kyrie Irving earlier this year, and it backfired tremendously. The Mavericks went on to shockingly miss even the play-in tournament as they finished with a 38-44 record, and the campaign was a total disaster.
Injuries played a part in their downfall, but Doncic and Irving weren’t a great fit together. In the 16 games where the two were on the court, the Mavs went just 5-11, which is just flat-out terrible.
Despite the struggles, the Mavericks re-signed Irving on a three-year, $126 million deal, and it really was something they had to do. The hope would be that with a proper preseason and training camp under their belt, the two stars would play better alongside each other in 2023-24.
I would certainly expect things to be better, but the question is just how much better can they be as a team? The only really notable additions they’ve made are Grant Williams and rookie Dereck Lively II.
They both give a much-needed defensive boost to a team that really struggled on that end of the floor, but would it be enough to make them a contender? Probably not. As things stand, I think Dallas can make the playoffs, but the second round is just about as far as I see them going.
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