Fascinating: Mavs’ Luka Doncic Becomes First Player Since LeBron James to Post These Numbers, Which is a Career-High Mark
Every time you turn around, it seems like Doncic is either breaking NBA records or doing somet
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, as he’s averaging 34.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.4 assists while shooting 49.1 percent overall and 38.0 percent from deep, which is a career-high mark.
Every time you turn around, it seems like Doncic is either breaking NBA records or doing something we haven’t seen in many years. The four-time All-NBA First-Teamer turns 25 years old this month, and he’s tallied 10,653 points, 3,220 rebounds and 3,056 assists in his young career.
The only other player in league history to match or exceed those numbers before turning 25 is LeBron James, who did so while playing 130 more games than Doncic. The only other player in league history to match or exceed those numbers in 375 career games is Oscar Robertson.
Doncic has been overlooked as a serious MVP candidate for most of the season thanks in large part to the Mavs’ injury issues. However, after getting Kyrie Irving back from a thumb injury and executing trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, the Mavs are riding a four-game win streak with a solid chance to have it reach six games before the All-Star break.
If the Mavs, who have the third-easiest schedule for the remainder of the season, can continue to build on their 30-23 record, not only will they scale up the Western Conference standings, but Doncic could become the MVP favorite.
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Chet Holmgren Speaks on Luka Doncic’s Greatness: ‘He Figures Out How to Beat You’
Luka Doncic has always been a handful for opponents to deal with, but now that level of difficulty has been raised after the Dallas Mavericks gave their superstar more firepower to work with by acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford before Thursday’s trade deadline.
On Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the pleasure of getting a first look at the revamped Mavs, and Dallas dominated from start to finish in a 146-111 blowout at American Airlines Center. After the game, OKC rookie sensation Chet Holmgren spoke about the Mavs setting the tone, as well as Doncic’s greatness.
“They came ready to play, firing up right out the gate,” Holmgren said. “Luka had a few step back threes to get it going, and they really fed off that. We were able to slow them down a good bit in the second quarter. We just didn’t come out the gates and then come out in the second half and do what we needed to do to win.”
Holmgren noted how Doncic doesn’t make the same mistakes twice. When certain defensive coverages are thrown at Doncic, he’s able to adjust and beat you another way.
“You know [Luka is] a really good player, so he’s not just going to keep making the same mistakes throughout the entire game. He’s going to adjust and figure out defenses. It’s just part of what makes him a great player, obviously he has skills on top of that, that allows him to do a lot of things out there,” Holmgren said.
“Once you throw a coverage at him or a scheme at him, even if it messes him up initially, he going to learn from it and figure it out how to beat it. I’m sure at this point in his career he’s seen a lot of everything that teams have tried to throw at him, so he’s good at adjusting and we got to continue to try to trust and adjust as well with him.”
The Mavs have now won four consecutive games and have tied their season-high mark of being seven games over .500 at 30-23. If Dallas’ final 29 games trend the same way these last four have, it will be hard to argue against Doncic for this season’s MVP award.
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