Dallas Mavs Legend Dirk Nowitzki Admits 'There Were Plenty of Doubts' About Luka Doncic as Rookie
It's rare for a professional sports team to hit the lottery by immediately transitioning from one Hall of Famer to the next. For the Dallas Mavericks, though, that's exactly what happened with Dirk Nowitzki handing the keys to the franchise over to Luka Doncic during the 2018-19 season.
On the latest episode of "All The Smoke," Nowitzki spoke with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Steven Jackson about his journey in the league, which included teaming up with Doncic at the end of this career. Although there was a lot of pre-draft hype around Doncic, Nowitzki admitted that he was unsure if No. 77 would work out in Dallas.
"We needed a little spark plug to change things. I didn't think it was going to be this kid," Nowitzki said of Doncic. "I'm like I'm not sure this is going to work. Is he quick enough? Is he athletic enough to go by guys like he is in Europe? And so, there were plenty of doubts there from everybody on the team."
Nowitzki said that once training camp started, Doncic began 'flashing some talent' as his teammates tested him physically during scrimmages at NBA speed.
"You could already see it -- this kid's got something about him," Nowitzki said. "He's got that swag, he knows how to play. ... We were thinking he's going to be a really good player but I didn't think he was going to go to that level."
And that level is a four-time All-Star, a four-time All NBA First Teamer, and being one of the best players in the world. At 24 years old, Doncic isn't anywhere near close to being finished adding to his already-long list of accolades.
As Dirk said, the Mavericks desperately needed a spark by the end of his playing career, and they ended up with the biggest spark they could've dreamed of by bringing Doncic into the fold.
