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Dallas Mavericks Star Luka Doncic Only Has a Few Things Left to Prove

If Luka Doncic stopped playing basketball today, there’s a good chance he’d make it into the basketball Hall of Fame due to his overall resume. That said, the Dallas Mavericks superstar still has two major goals left to accomplish in the NBA.

As Luka Doncic enters his fifth season with the Dallas Mavericks, there’s not much else for him to prove when it comes to being one of the best players on the planet.

The 23-year-old superstar already has three All-NBA First Team selections, NBA career averages of 26.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, and a handful of signature playoff moments throughout the last four years. If you take all that and combine it with Doncic’s international resume, it’s likely that he’d be a lock for the Hall of Fame even if he retired today.

That said, though, Doncic is never satisfied. All true winners throughout history never are. The sting of being quickly ousted in the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors lingers … and Doncic knows that, as good as he’s already been, he still has a few things to prove.

“Always, the goal was the same for me, for the team. We’re trying to win the championship. That’s the only goal we have, and that’s what we are going to work for,” said Doncic as the Mavs open training camp this week.

Winning the league’s MVP award is another honor Doncic certainly wouldn’t mind having, but winning a championship or more, especially in Dallas, is something that would cement his NBA legacy forever. First thing’s first, though … as the Mavs have to focus on getting off to a better start this season than they have over the previous two years where they were under .500 by the 25-game mark.

“Hopefully, we don’t start like last year. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you end. We ended pretty good. It was a good run, not the best, obviously, but it was a good run. But we’ve got to start way better than last year,” said Doncic.

With the Western Conference getting stronger, and the Mavs having to make up for Jalen Brunson’s lost production by committee, the importance of a good start can’t be understated. The margin for error this season is smaller than it’s been in the past.

Doncic really only has two more major goals to accomplish. Winning MVP is within his grasp this season, especially when considering that his already-high usage rate is likely to go even higher. 

To win a championship, though, Doncic will have to rely heavily on his teammates to help pull him through. He can carry the lion’s share of the load, but how far the Mavs can go will depend on role players being able to hit open shots and the team’s defense being able to hold up through multiple playoff rounds.

Doncic is up for the challenge. We’ll soon find out if the rest of the Mavs roster is as well.


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