Dirk Nowitzki Recalls Initial Luka Doncic Impression With Mavericks

Luka Doncic made quite the impression on the NBA as soon as he entered it. Oftentimes, a guard struggles when they first get into the league, but winning the EuroLeague MVP and playing against grown men since he was a teenager gave him a leg up.

Still, he had to prove to his teammates that he was ready to be the next face of the franchise, and his rookie year was the final year of Dirk Nowitzki's legendary career. Nowitzki recently recalled back to seeing Doncic come into the Dallas Mavericks and how impressive the young rookie was, which he talked about on the NBA Europe Instagram page.

"He wasn't a typical, normal 17, 18-year-old. He was a genius," Nowitzki started. "The way he reads the game, the way he plays the game at that age was incredible. You could see from the first practice on, just the way he orchestrates everything at that age was not normal. Usually, that comes with experience and playing a few years, then you kind of read pick-and-roll coverages or where your guys are on the floor. He was just ahead of his time, just so good already. He didn't really need my mentorship much. Obviously, we have a good friendship, helped him when they're ever anything. He didn't really need myself much... I was lucky to play with him and see how he approached the game, see how he played the game. It was fun to see."

Dirk talks about when Luka came to the NBA:

"He was a genius. The way he reads the game, the way he plays the game... "

IG/nbaeuropep pic.twitter.com/L8xGRRJZ3E
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) March 9, 2026

Just Another Reason to be Upset by the Luka Doncic-Lakers Trade

The bond between Nowitzki and Doncic makes it that much harder to get over last year's trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Pretty much everyone in the building thought Doncic would have a statue next to Nowitzki one day, and that he was going to spend his entire career with the Mavs.

That trade is part of the reason that Nowitzki's relationship with the franchise soured so quickly. Dismissing Nico Harrison helped with that a little bit, but there are still a lot of things that need to happen before that is repaired. Dallas is hopeful to bring him back into the fold, but that still seems to be far away.

Fans will stay hopeful that Luka Doncic will return in 2028 once he's able to be a free agent again, but a lot of that is going to depend on how the Lakers build the roster around him in these next few seasons.

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