Dallas Basketball

Dallas Mavs Legend Dirk Nowitzki Admits 'There Were Plenty of Doubts' About Luka Doncic as Rookie

Though Luka Doncic has proven to be one of the best players in the world, Dallas Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki wasn't sure it would work out that way at the beginning of Doncic's NBA journey.

Michael Mulford

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It's rare for a professional sports team to hit the lottery by immediately transitioning from one Hall of Famer to the next. For the Dallas Mavericks, though, that's exactly what happened with Dirk Nowitzki handing the keys to the franchise over to Luka Doncic during the 2018-19 season.

On the latest episode of "All The Smoke," Nowitzki spoke with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Steven Jackson about his journey in the league, which included teaming up with Doncic at the end of this career. Although there was a lot of pre-draft hype around Doncic, Nowitzki admitted that he was unsure if No. 77 would work out in Dallas.

"We needed a little spark plug to change things. I didn't think it was going to be this kid," Nowitzki said of Doncic. "I'm like I'm not sure this is going to work. Is he quick enough? Is he athletic enough to go by guys like he is in Europe? And so, there were plenty of doubts there from everybody on the team."

Nowitzki said that once training camp started, Doncic began 'flashing some talent' as his teammates tested him physically during scrimmages at NBA speed.

"You could already see it -- this kid's got something about him," Nowitzki said. "He's got that swag, he knows how to play. ... We were thinking he's going to be a really good player but I didn't think he was going to go to that level."

Steph Predicts Luka ‘On Precipice’ of Major Accolades

And that level is a four-time All-Star, a four-time All NBA First Teamer, and being one of the best players in the world. At 24 years old, Doncic isn't anywhere near close to being finished adding to his already-long list of accolades.

As Dirk said, the Mavericks desperately needed a spark by the end of his playing career, and they ended up with the biggest spark they could've dreamed of by bringing Doncic into the fold.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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