With the Dallas Mavericks being a bit short-handed, Luka Doncic had to play big minutes on both nights of their back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic led the team to wins in both games but hilariously said after they triumphed over the Lakers that he’s hurting everywhere at the moment.
“Yeah, I don’t know how I played (against the Lakers). I slept very little today,” Doncic said. “Everything hurts. I’m getting old, man, but we got two back-to-back wins, which is amazing, especially against (a) team like (the) Lakers. So I’m really proud of these guys.”
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Luka is just 24 years old, but his body was probably killing him at that point. With the likes of Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., and Josh Green out, Doncic had to play over 43 minutes in the 120-113 win over the Grizzlies on Monday and in the 127-125 win over the Lakers as well.
The fact that he put up 33 points, 6 rebounds, 17 assists, and 1 steal against L.A. after playing those big minutes in Memphis is very impressive. It also really speaks to his conditioning coming into the season, that he was able to be so effective despite the workload.
He gets a much-needed day of rest now, but after that another tough challenge awaits. The Mavericks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who sit atop the West, next on Thursday and they’ll need some more Luka magic if they are to extend their winning streak to five games.
Luka Doncic Could Win His First MVP In 2023-24
In each of the last two seasons, Doncic came in as one of the frontrunners for MVP but didn’t even end up getting a first-place vote. That shouldn’t be the case this time around, though.
The Slovenian has had a great start to the 2023-24 season, averaging 32.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. Luka has also led the Mavericks to a 15-8 record, which is good enough to be third in the West.
We know Doncic is going to continue to put up these numbers, but if the Mavericks end up as one of the top two seeds in the West, then he has a great shot at winning his first MVP. His teammates staying healthy would certainly help in that regard and you’d hope Irving returns at the earliest, but there appears to be no timetable for it at present.
Dirk Nowitzki Didn’t Think Luka Doncic Would Turn Out To Be So Good
Doncic is easily one of the very best players in the NBA today, but when the Slovenian came to the Mavericks in 2018, not many on the team saw this coming. Dirk Nowitzki revealed he didn’t think Doncic would be as good as he is today.
“The end of my career wasn’t pretty. We were struggling, there was talk of tanking going around. We needed a little spark plug. I didn’t think it was going to be this kid [Luka Doncic]. When he walked in the first time at the practice facility, he was a big boy but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. Is he quick enough? Is he athletic enough to go by guys? There were plenty of doubts from everybody on the team.”
A month before training camp the group came together to work out and that’s when Dirk and the rest of the team realized there was something special about Doncic. Even then, though, they thought he’d just be a very good player and not the dominant force that he is today.
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