Luka Doncic Says He’s Feeling ‘Perfect,’ Ready To Roll For Mavs Opener

October 22, 2024

In the event you were worried about Mavericks star Luka Doncic, don’t be. He told NBA reporters he’s “perfect” entering Thursday’s season-opener vs. the Spurs.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Doncic said, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

Doncic and the Mavs are coming off a trip to the NBA Finals — and just one season after missing the playoffs entirely. This year, they’ve added legendary sharpshooter Klay Thompson to Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Throw in the fact that relative newcomers such as P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and second-year man Dereck Lively II had a full camp together … well, there are plenty of reasons to believe Dallas could make another run.

But yeah, it pretty much all starts with Doncic, or Doncic and Irving. That’s why some fans perhaps became a little concerned that Doncic missed time in the preseason with a calf issue.

For now, though, it seems to be just fine, perhaps better than fine. And that was signaled by coach Jason Kidd at the start of training camp, when Doncic suffered the injury.

“There’s no concern at this point about his availability,” Kidd told reporters of Doncic at the time.

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.