As far as talented European players who have come to the NBA and consistently delivered the goods, there aren’t many examples more impressive than Luka Doncic. Ever since the Slovenian moved from Real Madrid to the Dallas Mavericks in June 2018, he’s performed at the highest level, almost without fail.
The 23-year-old has played a key role in leading the Mavericks to the play-offs for three successive seasons, and if you fancy a wager on Dallas collecting their second NBA title, then you should get the latest odds comparison on possible bets from here, where you can find the best sportsbook to sign up with.
Doncic’s remarkable consistency was highlighted by his recent display during Dallas’s 127-99 win over the Denver Nuggets, where he secured the 50th career triple-double and is the second fastest to do so, behind Oscar Robertson, both in terms of his age and the number of games it took to reach the milestone.
The display impressed Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who was full of praise for his star player;
“Pretty, impressive. He’s already rewriting the record books,” “That’s pretty cool to be the [second-fastest to reach 50 triple-doubles]. Oscar was pretty special. Now, to be there right behind Oscar shows you how good he is.”
Indeed Kidd knows a thing or two about triple-doubles, having achieved 107 of his own during his playing career.
The season has been something of a stuttering one for Kidd’s side as they sit in third place in the Southwest with a mediocre 9-8 record. They are currently on a run of five losses in eight, and Doncic has tried his hardest to keep things in check.
He’s finished as the Dallas Mavericks’ top point scorer in 13 of their 17 games thus far and could well do with some support. Their most recent loss to the all-conquering Boston Celtics was a case in point regarding just how important Doncic is to the American Airlines Center team.
Though Doncic put in a masterful 42-point performance, he couldn’t stop the Celtics from easing to a 125-112 win at the TD Garden. The one-man show that he’s put on with the Mavericks has led to speculation that he may look to move elsewhere, but he’s moved to quash such talk;
“I don’t think they’re worried about it right now,” “I got what, five years left here, so I don’t think they should be worried about it,” Doncic confirmed.
The lack of decent support is also something that’s been discussed ad infinitum, and it’s something Kidd is well aware of. Many fans have hopes that recent acquisition Christian Wood could help share some of the burden, and on the subject of securing more playing time, the 27-year-old chose to be very diplomatic in his response;
“I think I’m gonna just keep that personal opinion to myself,” “But what I can say is I’m enjoying my time here. I love playing for Dallas. These guys, they support me. They pick me up when I have bad games. Things are going great.” Wood added.
