WATCH: Mavs Luka Doncic 'When I Used To Jump'
DALLAS - Yes, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic can jump. Or, he's joking, he used to be able to do so.
Doncic responded to a clip tweeted out by Real Madrid - Doncic’s former club in the Euroleague - joking he used to have more spring and bounce during his days back on the continent.
Yes, as Doncic has quickly matured into an NBA star - the 21-year-old is an MVP candidate as he was averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 54 games prior to the COVID-19-driven suspension of NBA play - some think of him as being more "crafty'' than "athletic.''
Some think wrong.
Luka's game is certainly about high BBIQ, about angles and space and misdirection. "Geometry,'' coach Rick Carlisle likes to call it. But he's frequently, too, shown off explosiveness, speed, power, and yes, ups - as recently as the very last game ...
Doncic, an All-Star this year and heralded by all as one the best offensive players in the game, has been readying himself in Slovenia with his trainer (story here), has a fully-healed hand/thumb, that injury that was nagging him when the NBA went on hiatus, and has a well-earned rep as "Playoff Luka,'' as he will get to demonstrate again when the league returns to the court with the Orlando-based resumption of play in late July.
The Mavs have an opportunity to improve their playoff seeding, as they currently sit in seventh in the Western Conference but in the final eight re-scheduled regular-season games can move up from there. And Luka Doncic? Yes, he can still "move up,'' too.
