Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has spent the better part of his NBA career carrying the heavy load of leading a subpar supporting cast through a competitive Western Conference.
And before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, the Mavericks front office rolled the dice and acquired All-Star guard Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster move — the biggest since Dallas attempted to pair Doncic with Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. Now, with Doncic amid an MVP-caliber season coupled with the Mavericks being well within the playoff hunt, the 23-year-old responded to the team’s newest addition.
Doncic revealed his excitement about the opportunity of getting to play alongside the most talented teammate he’s ever had in Dallas. As he mentioned, Irving is an NBA champion and widely recognized as the league’s most skilled dribbler.
“Kyrie’s Kyrie, man,” Doncic told reporters, per video from Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “NBA championship, NBA champion. Probably the best ball handler ever in the game. Amazing player and it’s going to be fun to play with him.”
Despite the controversial baggage that’s followed Irving throughout his four-year stint with the Nets, he, like Doncic, is also on pace for a phenomenal campaign of his own. After making his Mavericks debut Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, Irving has averaged 27 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists through 41 games played this season.
If worse comes to worst in Dallas with Irving, the Mavericks could allow the eight-time All-Star to walk this upcoming summer in free agency. Or in the event that Irving and Doncic do gel on the floor, the Mavericks could easily be in store for a deep and convincing NBA Finals run.
Doncic did also acknowledge that he’ll miss now-former teammates Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, who were both dealt to Brooklyn in the swap.
“I wanna thank Spencer, though,” Doncic said. “Those are my guys. We’ll obviously miss them though.”
The debut of the two All-Stars remains delayed due to Doncic’s heel injury, which has sidelined him for Dallas’ last three contests.
