Dwight Powell Makes Mavs History, Gets Kevin Durant Praise
Suffering an Achilles rupture has historically been one of the most devastating injuries an NBA players can endure. Very rarely does a player come back from that severe of an injury and recover 100 percent.
However, Dallas Mavericks big man Dwight Powell has defied those odds this season, and he's getting much-deserved recognition from not only his team and the Dallas fan base, but also from Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who has also been able to return to form from his own Achilles injury in the 2019 NBA Finals.
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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
"[Shoutout to] Dwight Powell," tweeted Durant on Saturday. "[He] made that Achilles injury look like nothing."
After playing in just 58 games last season, which was his first season back from the injury, Powell has played in 81 games this season for the Mavs and appears to be poised to extend that to 82 games on Sunday when Dallas takes on the San Antonio Spurs in the season finale. Powell would be one of just four players in the league to play in every single game, including Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns), Saddiq Bey (Detroit Pistons) and Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards).
Not only has Powell become an iron man for the Mavs, but he's also had one of the most efficient shooting seasons in franchise history. Powell is only averaging 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, but he's shooting a career-best 66.8 percent from the field. That is the third-best overall shooting percentage in Mavs history (minimum of 200 attempts). Tyson Chandler is second on the list, as he shot 66.6 percent from the field during the 2014 season, and Brandan Wright is first, as he shot 67.7 percent during the 2013 season.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Powell, who will be entering the final year of his contract this summer, has established some extremely strong chemistry with his superstar teammate, Luka Doncic. The duo has been deadly in the pick-and-roll game this season, as Powell is averaging 1.43 points per possession as a roll man. Doncic has recorded 121 assists to Powell this season, which accounts for 21.6 percent his overall assists total.
In the 25 games since the Mavs traded Kristaps Porzingis, Powell is averaging 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting an incredible 70.1 percent from the field. In his last 10 games, Powell is averaging 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 78.5 percent from the field.
It remains to be seen how much of Powell's regular-season success can translate over to postseason play, but the fact that the Mavs won't have to deal with a fully-healthy Los Angeles Clippers team this time around bodes well for him – at least in a potential first-round matchup against either the Denver Nuggets or the Utah Jazz.
