Mavs’ Jason Kidd: No Concern About Luka Doncic Availability ‘At This Point’

October 2, 2024

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic suffered a left calf contusion, reportedly over the weekend before training camp, but there’s no need to panic.

That comes straight from coach Jason Kidd.

“There’s no concern at this point about his availability,” Kidd told reporters of Doncic, via Marc Stein of The Stein Line. “We’ll see how he feels in a week.”

Stein was the first to report that Doncic’s injury occurred when he Doncic got kicked in the calf during a weekend workout, before the team headed to Las Vegas for camp. Sources told Hoops Wire the injury isn’t expected to be serious and the Mavs said he’ll be re-evaluated in a week.

Doncic and the Mavs are coming off a run to the NBA Finals, losing to the Celtics in five games. Along with Doncic and Kyrie Irving, they added ex-Warriors great Klay Thompson to the mix this season.

Dallas signed Doncic to a five-year, $215 million extension in August 2021. Since entering the NBA in 2018, he has established himself as a regular league MVP candidate.

Last season, he averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks, shooting 48.7% from the field, 38.2% on 3-pointers and 78.6% from the free-throw line. He was first in the NBA in points and points per game.

The Mavericks can sign Doncic to a five-year, $346 million extension in 2025. That contract would be the richest deal in NBA history.

Lakers legend Michael Cooper recently ripped Doncic for his conditioning, calling the Mavs star “lazy.” Doncic has also reportedly been told by the coaching staff and teammates to stop complaining to the refs.

“In the three seasons he has coached Doncic, Jason Kidd has told him several truths: that he needed to stop making enemies of officials with persistent whining; that he needed to give a more consistent effort on defense; and that he needed to get in better shape to be at his best when his team needed him,” wrote Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “Kidd has said these things publicly and privately. So have Doncic’s teammates in Dallas and on the Slovenian national team.”