Inside The Spurs

Spurs' Gregg Popovich Praises Mavs' 'Hall of Fame' Players Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to victory against the San Antonio Spurs.

Jeremy Brener

In this story:

The San Antonio Spurs fell way short on Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks in a 116-93 contest at American Airlines Center.

Simply put, the Spurs and Mavericks -- once bitter playoff rivals -- are in two completely different places. The Spurs are just getting off the starting block while the Mavs are way ahead in the race with two players potentially bound for the Hall of Fame.

Luka Doncic Kyrie Irving
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

"I thought Luka (Doncic) and Kyrie (Irving) played like Hall of Fame players. They were fantastic," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said postgame. "We couldn't do anything with them, but I saw a lot of good things from the young guys that we can build on. You just got to keep shooting the shots and they don't go in if you want to shoot them. It just makes it a tough night."

When the other team has the two best players on the court at any given time, it's hard to win games. The Spurs hope that one day they will be able to have the shoe on the other foot with Victor Wembanyama as one of those future pillars.

'Going To Be Scary!' Vassell Excited for Future Alongside Wemby

The quest to find that second player is ongoing, though it's likely that he is not on the roster at the moment ... and may not be for several years. But for now, all the Spurs can do is bank this experience and hope that it will be worth it in the long run.

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News