Dallas Basketball

Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic Waives Goodbye to Sacramento Kings Ex GM After Big Win: 'He Should've Drafted Me!'

After Luka Doncic sealed the Dallas Mavericks' 107-103 win over the Sacramento Kings at the free-throw line, the superstar was seen waiving goodbye to the former Sacramento GM that passed on him during the 2018 NBA Draft.

Dalton Trigg

Mar 29, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates after
Mar 29, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates after / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Dallas Mavericks took a massive step toward avoiding the NBA Play-In Tournament with a gritty 107-103 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night – their second at Golden 1 Center this week. With the win, the Mavs tied the regular-season series and moved up two full games ahead of the Kings in the Western Conference standings.

Dallas currently has sole possession of the No. 6 seed with a chance to move up another spot or two in the final nine games of this season.

Mar 29, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates after
Mar 29, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates after / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic didn't have his best performance by his lofty standards in the first half of Friday's game, but he finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, 12 assists and two steals while shooting 6-14 from the field, 4-8 from deep and 10-14 from the free-throw line. With the Mavs up three points with just four seconds remaining, Doncic hit the dagger free throw that sealed the win.

As Doncic was walking back to the Mavs' bench after his clutch free throw, he was seen waving goodbye to former Kings GM Vlade Divac, who was sitting courtside. The four-time All-NBA superstar was also seen saying, "he should've drafted me," as he walked off the court after the final buzzer.

Doncic has made it a point to torture all the teams that passed on him during the 2018 NBA Draft. He was dominant in the Mavs' blowout win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 7 of the 2022 West Semifinals, he scored a career-best 73 points on the Atlanta Hawks earlier this season, and now, he's seemingly demoralized the Kings' chances of avoiding the Play-In Tournament.

Given the recent struggles from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, one has to wonder if the Mavs' recent surge – winning 10 of their last 11 games with the only loss coming on a night when Doncic didn't play – has pushed Doncic to the front of the MVP line for this season.

Through 64 games, Doncic is averaging 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists while shooting 48.7 percent overall, 37.6 percent from deep and 78.5 percent from the free-throw line. Next up for a potential MVP statement from Doncic is a Sunday matchup against the red-hot Houston Rockets, who have won 11 consecutive games.

Published |Modified
Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

Home/News