For the first time in his basketball career, Dallas Mavericks rookie phenom Luka Doncic was nervous before a game started.

Doncic and the Mavs faced off against Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat on Thursday in South Beach. It was the first time Doncic was playing against Dragic and not with him.

Both Dragic and Doncic are Slovenian.

“For the first time in my career, I was nervous before the game,” Doncic told George Efkarpides of Euro Hoops. “It was different for me. I played against Goran for the first time.

“He has influenced me a lot. We were in the EuroBasket, he taught me a lot. He’s a special person, very humble.”

Doncic and Dragic swapped jerseys after the game. The Heat defeated the Mavs by a final score of 105-99.

Doncic finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes. Dragic, meanwhile, put up a triple-double, the second of his career. The lefty scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 11 assists.

It's cool that Doncic is being honest about his feelings about this game. The Mavs' young star is only 20-years-old and was playing against his good friend for the first time ever. Naturally, Doncic had emotions going through him.