Dirk Nowitzki is good friends with Luka Doncic, that much we all know. Since the Dallas Mavericks traded for Doncic on draft night in 2018, Nowitzki has made it a point to strike up a rapport with the player who would take on the mantle of face of the franchise following his retirement.
But now, Nowitzki, the unquestionable Mavericks franchise GOAT, is growing ever so “mad” at Doncic because of how good he's been.
Speaking on NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart during ESPN's broadcast of the Mavericks' 111-92 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, Nowitzki was in awe of how well Doncic has been playing as of late, although he jokingly said that he's not too pleased with the fact that some of the records the Doncic has been setting have come at his expense.
“Man, I'm so mad. He's breaking every one of my records. … We saw then in year one that the sky is the limit for him. But I honestly didn't think he could go [where he is now].
“The way 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 midrange; he's got the floater; he's got the horse shots; he's got the full package,” Nowitzki said.
“Every year, I'm saying, ‘This kid can't possibly get better.' And then sure enough, next year, he comes back with more in his repertoire.”
It's important to note that Luka Doncic is only 25 years old. So this might not be music to Dirk Nowitzki's ears, but Doncic has plenty of time in his career to smash the records the Mavericks' GOAT owns.
Luka Doncic is on track to surpass Dirk Nowitzki as the franchise GOAT
Luka Doncic has played in only six seasons in the NBA. But like Dirk Nowitzki said, he is already setting records left and right, charting for himself an impressive pathway to becoming not just the Mavericks' greatest player in franchise history but also one of the best the league has ever seen.
For starters, Doncic has already put up more 35-point games than Nowitzki did in his entire career. He has made the All-NBA First Team four times (about to be five), matching Nowitzki's total.
Doncic has scored the most first-half points in Mavericks history. He owns the single-greatest scoring game in franchise history when he poured in 73 points earlier in the season against the Atlanta Hawks, the team that drafted him.
Even Mark Cuban thinks that Luka Doncic might have a rocket strapped to his back when it comes to achieving Mavericks greatness, although Dirk Nowitzki was quick to jokingly shut that down.
“Luckily, Mark doesn’t know anything about basketball, so he doesn’t know what he’s watching,” Nowitzki said.
— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) April 11, 2024
Now, there is mounting pressure for Luka Doncic to lead the Mavericks to a championship like Dirk Nowitzki did in 2011. Doncic has the best supporting cast of his career with Kyrie Irving torching the nets and PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford being amazing trade deadline pickups. But a familiar foe awaits the Mavericks in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Even then, it took Nowitzki 13 seasons before he led the Mavs to a title, and Doncic is only halfway through that mark for his career, so the Slovenian star definitely has time on his side when it comes to gunning for a championship.
Mavericks vs. Clippers, Round III
Luka Doncic has only made it past the first round once in his career, and that was when the Mavericks didn't face their archnemesis, the Los Angeles Clippers, in the postseason. Doncic has a chance to exorcise his demons, as even though he's been tearing up the Clippers in their previous two postseason meetings, Kawhi Leonard and company have had the answer for him every single time.
The greats always find a way to rise to the occasion. Even Michael Jordan had to be humbled multiple times by the Detroit Pistons before he broke through. Could this be the year Doncic finally takes care of the Clippers problem?
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