Luka Doncic has a more than successful start into his NBA career behind him. The performance of the Dallas Mavericks No. 3 Pick also impressed team mate Dirk Nowitzki.
“He is better prepared,” said Nowitzki, explaining why the 19-year-old made a better start to the NBA than he did in his 1998 rookie season.
“An important factor in the NBA is whether you feel comfortable outside the floor. For me it was difficult at the beginning to be away from home for the first time. There was a small language barrier at the beginning,” said the 40-year-old.
According to Nowitzki, Doncic doesn’t see this as too much of a problem: “He’s already got it all sorted out. His English is better, he has been living in Spain for years and was on his own in a way”.
Doncic left his Slovenian homeland in his youth to join Real Madrid, where he became a regular at the age of 16. He then developed into the Euroleague MVP before being selected by the Mavs as 3rd in the draft in 2018.
“His game is definitely ready [for the NBA],” said Nowitzki, who also added: “I think he’ll have to get used to the speed and athleticism in the league a bit. Everything else is already great.”
In 17 games Doncic scored an average of 19.3 points, snatched 6.9 rebounds and distributed 4.1 assists with strong odds out of the field (45.3 percent FG, 38.3 percent three). Doncic has made it possible for Dallas to win 7 out of 8 home games – even without Nowitzki.
The German had to undergo ankle surgery in the summer, but the healing process did not go as planned. Shortly before the start of the season, the Achilles tendon was also a problem for him, so that he has not yet been able to play a game.
Although Dallas will obviously have to wait until December for the German wunderkind to return to the stage, Doncic praised Nowitzki’s influence in the Mavs’ cabin: “It’s fantastic to share the Locker Room with him. He’s a great person. I’m happy to be on a team with him.”