The last time Steph Curry won the NBA trophy was in 2018, Luka Doncic was a 19-year-old boy who had just landed in the United States. The Slovenian was signed by the Atlanta Hawks in the summer draft and immediately switched to the Dallas Mavericks. Four years later, Curry and Doncic meet in the Western Conference Finals. The meeting between the two stars is the battle between a legendary veteran and one of the figures being billed as the future of the NBA. For El Niño Maravilla it is the end of childhood.
Doncic (Ljubljana, 1999), used to being labeled phenomenon and genius even before he came of age, is up against Golden State, who lead the series 2-0, with the next two games being played in Dallas on Sunday and Tuesday will . The team of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green capitalized on experience in the second half of Friday’s game, turning a game around in which the Mavs’ defense gambled away a 19-point lead. “We believe until the end,” said the Slovenian, who had 43 points in the second game.
There is concern in the Dallas camp as the star had a bad night after the first game (beat Dallas 112-87) where he didn’t sleep due to stomach problems and vomited. On Friday he admitted he also had pain in his right shoulder, although he assured it was “nothing serious”.
The downside isn’t insurmountable for Doncic, who has guided Dallas through the playoffs three straight years. The Mavericks beat the Warriors in three of four regular-season games. Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns, No. 1 in the west, is also fresh in the fans’ memories. The point guard, who is averaging 28.4 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists per game, his best since 2019, was the hangman at the end of the series. He scored 35 points, 27 of them in the first half, the same number as the entire Arizona team at halftime. He spent the whole game smiling after sending the ball in the basket. It was a humbling home game for Chris Paul and Devin Booker, who started the semifinals with back-to-back wins over Texas.
Luka Doncic leaves the court after his home win against the Phoenix Suns. Christian Petersen (AFP)
As the son of dance world champion Mirjam Poterbin and Slovenian basketball player Sasha Doncic, Luka grew up with basketball as an object of his childhood. He was already attending the courts at his father’s games by the age of three months and by the age of six he was beginning to shoot at middle distance and learn tactics on the field.
Doncic is used to going on despite being on the ropes. It’s part of his mentality since he was a young talent at Real Madrid, a team he joined in 2015 and for which he has played almost 100 games and won two leagues, a World Cup and a Cup He has barely played his fourth year and where After winning the 2019 Rookie of the Year, the European left infamous performances on the floor in his team’s two eliminations against the Los Angeles Clippers. Last year he scored 46 points in a Game 7 loss. And one before that, the one in the NBA played in the Disney bubble because of the pandemic, the point guard had a better scoring average in the playoffs (31) than Michael Jordan.
The start of this season was the hardest for Doncic. After being eliminated from Kahwi Leonard’s squad, he signed up for his country’s national team to attend the Tokyo Games. Slovenia came fourth. When the point guard returned to his team, everyone pointed out that he had some meat left. “He’s running around on the floor… He needs to lose weight,” legendary guard Reggie Miller said in a play call. “I took three weeks off and relaxed a bit. Maybe too much,” said Doncic, who returned at 250 pounds (he weighed 104).
“I don’t think he liked that they pointed that out to him,” said Mark Cuban, the businessman who owns the Mavericks. “I think he’s finally realized that a certain level of discipline is required. Athletes at this level need it. When everything comes easy to you and you’re used to being the best and getting all the support. Then something goes wrong and forces a rethink,” added the investor. Despite this, Doncic has been the top scorer in 59 of the 82 games this season (he scored 51 points against the Clippers in February). He changed his diet and lost what was left. Dallas also dropped ballast in February by sending Kristaps Porzingis to Washington for Spencer Dinwiddie. The plan worked for Jason Kidd, who gave Dallas its first postseason win after the team’s formation by eliminating Utah.
Dallas became champions for the only time in 2011 with another European legend, Dirk Nowitzki. The German ended the first season for the Slovenian in 2019. Then he handed Luka over to the witnesses. “I tried very little to be his mentor. It’s obviously very good. It’s better than I was,” said Nowitzki in April, who likes to think about what kind of team Dallas would have been if the two had met in their prime.
It will be Doncic’s job to strengthen Dallas in the future of the NBA. His name keeps popping up in the conversations of the league’s biggest talents. In voting for this year’s MVP, Doncic took fifth place behind Nikola Jokic, who repeated the award; Joel Embiidd of Philadelphia; Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Devin Booker. The consensus seems to be that Luke’s time has come. Before that, however, Stephen Curry and some warriors who shaped an era await him.
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