Dallas Mavs Rookie O-Max Prosper Scores 1st NBA Point, Receives Game Ball From Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the No. 24 pick in this year's draft, scored the first point of his NBA career against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Luka Doncic made sure to secure the game ball for him.
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Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving stole the show on Friday night at American Airlines Center, scoring a combined 71 points en route to a 144-126 win to push the Dallas Mavericks to a 7-2 record to start the season.

Although the game was a star-studded affair on both sides, one subplot was Mavs rookie forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper scoring the first point of his career. Prosper didn't get a lot of run, as he played just five minutes and only score the one point by splitting a pair of free throws, but he also got some experience guarding an elite scorer in Clippers star James Harden in the first half.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper attempts to block Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden.
Dallas Mavericks rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper attempts to block Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout his career, Doncic has made it a point to give Mavs rookies the game ball when they score their first career points, and Friday night was no exception, as Doncic had the game ball pinned to his side during his postgame interview, waiting to give it to Prosper in the locker room. It is a small, but thoughtful gesture from Doncic, as he remembers how special it was for him to score his first NBA points and wants other rookies to have those memories forever as well.

So far, Prosper hasn't made the immediate impact for the Mavs that he planned on making after putting in an offseason full of hard work. The 21-year-old 6-8 forward has a lot of potential, but he's still a raw work in progress. Given Prosper's excellent work ethic, though, there's no doubt that there will be many more NBA points coming his way in the future.

"I do feel like I'm ready," Prosper told DallasBasketball.com during the summer when talking about the physical aspect of the NBA. "Especially spending three years in college, it prepared me a lot for that. Being more experienced through that over your typical one-and-done [prospect]."

We'll see if Prosper ended up getting more run as this season progresses. A lot can happen during an 82-game schedule, and the Mavs could always use a little more size on the wing, so anything is possible if Prosper keeps putting the work in.



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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.