Mark Cuban believes Luka Doncic could pass Dirk Nowitzki as greatest Maverick ever
In an interview with FanSided, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he believes Luka Doncic could one day surpass Dirk Nowitzki as the greatest Mav of all time.
Ever since the Dallas Mavericks traded up to take Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft, one question concerning him and Dirk Nowitzki has been on everyone’s minds. Maybe it’s their undeniable talent. Maybe it’s their similarly jovial nature on the court. Or maybe it’s simply their bond as teammates and the fact that they’re both international phenoms.
Whatever the case, ever since Doncic exploded onto the scene of NBA basketball, we all couldn’t help but wonder: Does he have what it takes to surpass Nowitzki as the greatest Mav of all time?
For owner Mark Cuban’s part, he’s certainly a believer.
In an interview with FanSided’s Mark Carman, Cuban said he’s hoping for big things in Luka’s future.
“Could he [surpass Dirk]? Yeah, because I think the game has changed enough, it’s more wide open today than it was when Dirk first got to the league. So he’s got that advantage, but he could win MVPs, he could win a championship. I hope so, and I know Dirk would hope so too. They’re good friends too, so I think they support each other either way.”
Doncic and Nowitzki built a strong and openly lovable bond during their one season together as teammates, which was Dirk’s final NBA season. Though the big German was clearly on his last legs, Cuban said those two playing together in their primes would’ve been legendary.
“Oh my God,” he said. “We only got to see little glimpses when Dirk was at the end, which, could you imagine if they were both in their prime? Oh my goodness. That’s MJ and Scottie again.”
Nowitzki was a 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, regular-season MVP, NBA champion and Finals MVP in his career, as well as the Mavs’ all-time leading scorer and the NBA’s sixth all-time leading scorer. Surpassing him would take quite a legendary resume, but Doncic is off to a much faster start than Nowitzki experienced when he first entered the league.
After handily winning Rookie of the Year honors in his first season, Doncic elevated his game to MVP-caliber in just his second year in the league. Averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game on 46.1 percent shooting, the Slovenian wunderkind was enjoying an All-NBA season that saw him voted into the Western Conference’s All-Star starting lineup as the leader of a playoff-bound Mavericks team.
Simply put, what he was doing at age 21 was historic, and even Cuban and Co. didn’t expect this much this soon.
“We knew he was good, that’s why we made the deal obviously,” Cuban said. “You don’t give up a lottery pick in a future draft unless you’re really confident he’s going to be good. But we didn’t know he would be this good this fast. We thought that there would be a little bit more of a curve for him to get up to speed and to become All-Star caliber.”
The talent and basketball intellect has always been evident with Doncic, but Cuban said this rapid rise to prominence is a result of his work ethic.
“The thing about it is, it’s easy to spot talent,” he said. “It’s hard to know if a guy’s gonna be a hard worker. How much is he gonna try to improve over the summer? And that was the question with Luka. And I remember talking to him right after last season saying, ‘Okay, what are you gonna add to your game?’ He goes, ‘A left hand.’
“He comes back, and he goes from not being a great finisher to being one of the top-three finishers in the NBA, particularly with his left. That’s a sign of greatness, and that’s why we’re so excited.”
While Doncic’s 3-point shooting (31.8 percent this season) is not quite where it needs to be, his release is clean and many of those attempts came off the dribble from step-backs — a shot he can get with ease.
To this point, one of the few other critiques of his game has been not hunting for his own shot enough in late-game situations, but Cuban is more than willing to be patient as he learns the right balance on that front.
“He wants that shot, that’s who he is,” the Mavs owner said. “The question really becomes, what’s his percentages when he does it, right? Sometimes he does, and I always use the example of Michael [Jordan] to Steve Kerr — getting that ball to him on time, on target, with a guy that can hit a shot. And that’s the balance that he’s trying to figure out right now: When does he get it to the open man and trust your teammate, and when do you take over? And that’s part of the process. I mean, he just turned 21, so it’s something that’s gonna come with time.”
We may or may not get to see how the rest of the 2019-20 NBA season plays out, but one thing is for certain: Cuban and the Mavericks are extremely high on Doncic’s equally high potential, and rightfully so.