Despite the finals loss, Doncic managed to carry a fifth seed on a magical playoff run and was only three wins away from winning it all. He’s contending against the proverbial wall every all-time great has to deal with in their young career.
It brings me no pleasure to write about a Boston Celtics title. I’m a bitter Los Angeles Lakers fan, and there are just some deep prejudices I stand by (like how Hawaiin Pizza has always been and always will be amazing). But to their credit, the Celts were unequivocally the most dominant team in the league and maybe even ever.
Under Coach Joe Mazulla, they went 80-21 and joined legendary teams like the ’86 Celtics, ’87 Lakers, ’96 Chicago Bulls, and ’17 Warriors, on the top of the most elite teams in National Basketball Association (NBA) history in terms of overall winning percentage. That 18th banner is well-deserved, and getting to see Jaylen Brown silence doubters was beautiful. They’re a hard team to hate, really, just because of the fact that they have a ton of cool, high-character dudes (it’s hard to root against Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Jrue Holiday, after all). But for the Celts, I can always try.
Anyway, that should be enough praise for now. Everyone’s written about them anyway. Still, I can’t really say that it was as entertaining as a series as I hoped it would be. Although I could say the same about the entire playoffs apart from, say, the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves or the New York Knicks-Philadelphia 76ers series. But the Dallas Mavericks, for what it’s worth, authored a magical playoff run in their own right. They sent the L.A. Clippers packing; had the Oklahoma City Thunder reeling; and effectively ended the T-Wolves’ own Cinderella run to the conference finals.
Through it all, we watched Kyrie become the Kyrie of old. At times, it felt like P.J. Washington and Derick Jones Jr. hit every big shot down the fourth. Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively were playing out of their minds. The alley-oops (a stat they led the playoffs in) were good, stupid fun. J-Kidd became one hell of a defensive coach for some reason. But of course, it was Luka Doncic who had orchestrated the Mavs’ brilliance all post-season long. At the age of 25, he authored a season for the ages, averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists during the regular season and following that up with 28.9/9.5/8.1 averages during the playoffs. Ridiculous.
The finals, of course, were a different story for Doncic and the Mavs. For starters, it was a tough matchup for Kyrie, having to deal with all the Celts’ wings. Washington and the other role guys suddenly went cold. Seemed like nobody could buy a bucket late and whenever the Celts went on the run, the Mavs just couldn’t stop them (I mean, when Pritchard’s hitting half-court shots like that and Hauser hitting three after three, that’s even tougher).
The Celtics offense, even without KP for the most part, was brutal, and the Dallas D just couldn’t match the firepower. Made even more glaring was just how few players the Mavs had who could make a shot down the stretch. They felt like… a fifth seed in a finals series, which doesn’t really happen often to begin with. The lowest-seeded team ever to win was the ’95 Houston Rockets and teams at this position almost always fail when the lights get brighter.
Doncic, who was sensational offensively, just couldn’t get them over the hump. He’d be widely (and validly) criticized, too, for his lackadaisical defense at times. His off-ball play still leaves much to be desired, as well. The turnovers were bad (he averaged five a game) and ISO ball just isn’t as fun to watch when the rest of the team is stinking up the place. He cries way too much to the refs. Way. Too. Much. Brian Windhorst’s brutal takedown, whether you like it or not, definitely had some truth to it.
But we’re nitpicking here. He averaged 29/9/6 on 47/24/59 shooting splits. The thing is, Luka just, unfortunately, felt human after being a God among men just about 90 percent of the season. It’s not that he couldn’t have figured it out, but he just hit the proverbial wall every great has to go through before they’re ready to win.
Doncic’s Finals run is an anomaly. We haven’t seen many 25-year-olds make it this far as the number one option. A 22-year-old LeBron James did it in 2007, when it felt like he was a year from being a year away. All of a sudden, he finds himself in the finals against an established team with a great foundation, getting swept, and having to shoulder the burden of a less-than-stellar roster. The parallels with Luka here are uncanny, albeit for, you know, getting at least one game out of it.
Magic might have done it at 22, but he did have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bird did it at 24, but he did have Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and the then Finals MVP Cedrick Maxwell. Tim Duncan won his first in 1999 at the age of 22, with the Admiral by his side. See, you just need another hall-of-famer to get over the hump, and we’ve seen this time and time again for young stars. If we go through NBA history, we’d find it hard for someone this young to win all by himself. Championships are a function of management, coaching, players, and a whole lot of luck. Luka’s luck, sadly, had just run out at the most inopportune time.
To be this good at this age, he’s done some unprecedented stuff. He’s hit five straight All-NBA First Team selections, dazzled us with a flurry of game-winners, and gave us some of the best moments in the NBA during the 2020s—his 73 piece against the Hawks, the 60-20-10 game, and just a ton of other absurd milestones. He’s been a certified killer, to say the least. Hell, Luka could’ve been the MVP if not for Nikola Jokic’s dominance. While I’d never expect the Mavs star to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, he’s shown flashes of good defense within great schemes or short windows. Imagine what his prime looks like in a few years.
The NBA is only going to get tougher from here. Wemby’s coming. Give Jokic a retooled roster and he’ll always contend. The Celtics will still be here. That young Thunder squad has a few more years to get to their absolute peak as a collective. Luka and the Mavs will always be in the mix as long as he’s there. We often forget that we have to allow players to grow into greatness. But the thing with Doncic is, he’s always been ahead of schedule. This year, he’s shown reminded us of that once again. All the great ones always find a way to break through. Luka, when he finally does win a chip, will be no different. That’s inevitable.