Before the season, I declared it to the world in a For The Win video: Luka Doncic was the player to watch this season, because he was going to win MVP.
The Dallas Mavericks would be coming into the season after surprising a lot of people with a 43-32 record, and it was Doncic who nailed a game-winner in the bubble postseason that proved he was about to take his game to the next level in the year he was turning just 22 years old.
Well. I didn’t count on the Mavs underachieving (although they’re at .500!) this much. Doncic’s numbers are still a little bit better than last year’s stats, but the narrative doesn’t fit if Dallas isn’t great.
On Tuesday night, though, we saw the future. With two shots to sink the Boston Celtics, we know that maybe an MVP isn’t happening now … but it’s coming.
This sequence to give the Mavs a lead with just over 15 seconds left in which he toyed with Daniel Theis before hitting one of his patented step-back threes with plenty of distance between himself and the Celtics center … what do you do with this?
💫 LUKA.
MAGIC. 💫Back-to-back THREES pour la victoire des @dallasmavs! @luka7doncic: 31 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST #MFFL pic.twitter.com/MCRxXJgUxd
— NBA France (@NBAFRANCE) February 24, 2021
Then, with the game tied at 107, he got some room off a screen, had two defenders in the vicinity … and, in the words of Ian Eagle, “OH YEAH!”
LUKA. INCREDIBLE. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bggGYw44K4
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 24, 2021
More angles:
Another angle of this Luka dagger 🥶
(via @dallasmavs)pic.twitter.com/wddp3myBqO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 24, 2021
Luka is on a different level 😤 pic.twitter.com/H3k2HQhHj0
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 24, 2021
That calm in the face of all that pressure, the silky moves and shooting … we are witnessing greatness, and he hasn’t even turned 22 yet.
