Kristaps Porzingis has found a home with the Boston Celtics. Just a few seasons ago, however, Porzingis was teammates with Luka Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks. His time in Dallas didn't go according to plan, though, and Porzingis recently addressed his Mavs stint on The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick, via ClutchPoints.

“It's a big mix of things,” Porzingis told Redick. “Maturity for sure, again, I'm talking about what I could have done better. I wasn't into analytics and numbers. If somebody… presented it to me the right way and said, ‘this is what we need to do, this is what we need from you. You're going to be way more effective doing this', like kind of explain it to me better, I think that would’ve made a difference.”

Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were regarded as the next star-studded duo in the NBA when Porzingis joined the Mavs. Porzingis posted respectable numbers at times while on the court, but injuries were problematic for him.

He averaged 20.4 points per game in 2019-20, his first season in Dallas. Porzingis was limited to 43 games during the 2020-21 campaign. The Mavs ultimately traded Porzingis to the Washington Wizards in 2021-22.

Redick later asked Porzingis about playing with Doncic.

Kristaps Porzingis opens up on playing with Luka Doncic

Mavs' Kristaps Porzingis shooting a basketball.

“I think we both tried to make it work,” Porzingis responded. “I think communication, maturity, communication on both of our parts should have been better.”

Doncic and Porzingis certainly featured the talent and potential to become a top-tier NBA duo. And they flashed signs of figuring it out at times.

But it never truly came to fruition.

Doncic has continued to perform well in Dallas. He is in the middle of another fantastic season in 2023-24 and projects to be a legitimate MVP candidate.

Porzingis is also finding success with the Celtics. Boston has developed one of the best rosters in the NBA with Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday leading the way.

Still, NBA fans will always wonder what could have been with Doncic and Porzingis in Dallas, had Porzingis been able to stay healthy and the duo developed more chemistry with one another.