Luka Doncic has taken the NBA since he arrived in 2018, almost instantly making the Dallas Mavericks contenders for the title before the beginning of each year. Doncic made the All-NBA First Team in two of his first three years in the league, an incredible accomplishment that has seen him be named among the favorites for the MVP award before the start of the last two seasons.
That hasn’t quite happened for the Slovenian yet, and a large part of that is down to the fact that he has started the season slow for the past two years, taking his time to play his way into shape. This season has been particularly egregious, with many questioning Luka’s weight and fitness. The criticism and some lackluster early performances have meant that Doncic didn’t get picked as an All-Star starter.
It seems both those things have affected Luka, who has been arguably the best player in the league over the past month. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spoken on The Ticket, a radio show, about how Doncic has now realized that there is a level of discipline required to become the best player in the league (via Brad Townsend/Twitter).
Cuban noted that a lot of young players go through that learning process. He credits Doncic for not only realizing change was needed, but for putting in the work.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 22, 2022
“Mark Cuban says he believes Luka Doncic was humbled by criticism of his weight and not being voted an All-Star starter, leading to change of diet and increased workouts. ‘It finally clicked in that there’s a level of discipline involved.’
“Cuban noted that a lot of young players go through that learning process. He credits Doncic for not only realizing change was needed but for putting in the work.”
In his last 10 games, Luka Doncic has scored 30 points on 8 occasions. This has included 3 games of scoring over 45 points, an absurd number. Luka has also averaged 9.8 assists per game during that stretch, to go along with 10.3 rebounds. These are comfortably MVP numbers and if he can come into the season playing like this, it will be hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve the award.
Doncic still has the playoffs to look forward to this season and likely won’t have to face his rivals from the last two seasons in the Los Angeles Clippers, who are dealing with injuries to their stars. The fact that he has taken the criticism constructively is an excellent sign for the Mavericks, who will be hoping to win their first playoff series since 2011.
