The Dallas Mavericks have loaded their roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving this summer, and their new additions are going to help them tremendously next season as they try to return to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row.
Although the doubters are already creeping in, Dallas’ offseason has been quite underrated when you look at the talent they acquired and the price they paid for each player. Klay Thompson’s contract is extremely team-friendly, and many of the other new players are on team-friendly deals as well.
While the main talking point of the offseason seems to be Dallas’ new additions, seemingly no one is talking about Doncic’s potential jump next season. He took a huge jump last season as a shooter and defender, and he has emerged as a unanimous top player in the NBA.
What makes Doncic so deadly is his offensive game, and notorious guard Patrick Beverley thinks that he is the toughest player in the NBA to guard. Beverley appeared on the OGs Podcast with Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, and he doubled down on his take from 2021 that Doncic is the best player he’s ever guarded.
“Nothing I can do,” Beverley said about guarding Doncic. “I take that year what he did to me in the playoffs, I took that (expletive) all summer on the chin.”
Beverley has been known for his confidence for his entire career, and him saying that Doncic destroyed him in the playoffs has to be a humbling moment for him. He and Doncic seem to have a good relationship, and their battles are always fun to watch, specifically because Doncic usually gets the best of him.
Beverley has even named Doncic as the top trash talker in the NBA, and it’s a shame that fans won’t get to watch this matchup this season. Everyone loved watching the classic Clippers-Mavs matchups in the playoffs to see Doncic and Beverley go at it, and seeing them match up again may have to wait a few years considering that Beverley is out of the NBA for now.
Dallas and LA played each other in the 2020 and 2021 NBA Playoffs, and Doncic was too much to handle for Beverley. Beverley did all he could to slow down Doncic, but his confidence can only get him so far.
Beverley will always be known as one of the most confident guards of this era due to his playstyle and demeanor, but Doncic’s excellence is something that has humbled even the best and most confident players to play the game