Gregg Popovich feeling embarrassed, makes a brazen claim regarding Luka Doncic

January 1, 2023

With Luka Doncic at the helm, the Dallas Mavericks have now won six straight games, improving their record to 21-16 and placing them fourth in the Western Conference. It’s been an incredible run.

Luka Doncic is in “destructive” mode right now

Luka Doncic
(Source: Wikipedia)

He’s scored 50 points three times in their last five games, and head coach Gregg Popovich said ahead of Dallas’ game against the San Antonio Spurs that his goal was to keep Doncic under 50 points.

Unfortunately for him, Doncic scored 51 points in a win over the Spurs, which caused him some embarrassment (even though Popovich took the loss in stride). Popovich could only laugh and praise the Mavericks’ superstar after the game.

“Oh, I said that didn’t I?” Popovich said with a laugh when asked about the 50 points comment. “I think the next day he got, was it the next day he got 60? Or two days later, or something like that? It’s unbelievable, this guy. Yeah, he’s something else. You know, we all we all talk about him, and you look at him, and if he walked in the room, you wouldn’t say… He’s just a beautiful basketball player. He’s like the prototype for high basketball IQ and high skill level all rolled into one guy. He’s very special, very special.”

Popovich went on to say that if Doncic can continue to play for a long time, he will go down as one of the greatest players in league history.

“Yeah, if he can play for a good number of years, he’ll be one of the great players for sure,” Popovich said.

This season, Doncic has put up MVP-caliber numbers. He has appeared in 33 of the team’s 37 games this season, averaging 36.9 minutes per game. The 23-year-old is averaging 33.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game while shooting 50.7% from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc.