Getty Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
As they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season, a big part of the Dallas Mavericks’ success will be the All-Star pairing of Luka Doncic with Kyrie Irving, who they acquired at the trade deadline and inked to a 3-year, $120 million deal in July. With Irving set to embark on his first full season in Dallas, Mavericks head coach, Kidd is optimistic that their superstar duo can reach new heights.
“But now looking at our roster, hopefully we don’t have to play [Luka] 40-plus minutes a night. With the depth that we have, I thought Nico did an incredible job this summer,” Kidd told NBA insider Marc Stein during an appearance on “The Stein Line”
“But I think right now I’m excited with Luka and [Kyrie Irving] and having Luka ready to go and to achieve his goals, and that’s to win a championship.”
Jason Kidd Gives a Key Update on Luka Doncic
As the Mavericks prepare to kick off the 2024 season in just a few short weeks, they hope to leap to title contention. Whether or not that comes to fruition will rely heavily on Doncic. When speaking with NBA insider Marc Stein, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd gave a key update on his superstar.
“Well, we went to visit, when I say we I mean my family, we spent a week there in his hometown. It was a beautiful city and country. Got to see him practice twice with his national team. He looked incredible, he was doing two-a-days. He was in great spirits. He loves to play for his national team,” Kidd said to the former New York Times reporter.
“You talk about the leg injury, I think hopefully as we go forward here he is gonna be ready to go. I presume that sometimes in our career we’re not 100%, maybe we’re 99 or 95%. The more games you play, the longer your career, I think you can ask anyone, no one’s really 100%”
Slovenia Coach Gets Honest on Luka Doncic
For those who may be tardy to the party, the Mavericks got quite the scare during the FIBA matchup between Greece and Slovenia on August 4. Doncic, who plays for the Slovenian men’s basketball team, bumped knees with an opposing player from Greece and had to exit the game early and did not return.
Luka has since recovered and eventually returned to play in the FIBA tournament. However, Slovenian National Team head coach Aleksander Sekulic tells Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated that the Mavericks superstar took a significant beating during tournament play.
“Like I always say, he [Doncic] takes a lot of hits during a game,” Sekulic said of Doncic’s health.
“Teams try to play physically with him, and there’s a lot of contact, and he needs to deal with a lot of contact, and it’s not easy, and it hurts him a little bit. Hopefully, we are going to find a way to protect him.”
Despite Luka’s health concerns this offseason, Kidd seems fairly confident that the star guard will be ready to go for the season opener, which is good news if you are a Mavs fan.