According to NBA front office insider Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Dallas Mavericks can sign Luka Doncic to a five-year, $346 million extension in 2025.
That contract would be the richest deal in NBA history.
Luka Doncic has reached the 65-game criteria.
He is now eligible for MVP and All-NBA honors.
Doncic will also reach the super max criteria when he is named All-NBA this offseason.
He will be eligible to sign a five-year $346M super max extension in the 2025 offseason.
The…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 1, 2024
The Mavericks signed Doncic to a five-year, $215 million extension in August 2021. Since entering the NBA in 2018, Doncic has established himself as one of the best players in the association.
A five-time All-Star, Doncic has career averages of 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists. He’s already third in NBA history in points per game and ninth in triple-doubles.
The 2018-19 Rookie of the Year, Doncic is averaging 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists this season while shooting 48.9% from the field, 38.0% from beyond the arc and 78.2% from the free-throw line. He’s in the MVP conversation.
Doncic, 25, is first in the NBA in points, first in points per game, 17th in rebounds, 15th in rebounds per game, third in assists and second in assists per game.
“I can’t answer that (MVP question),” Doncic said during an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic. “That’s for the media. I’m happy we’re winning, man. That’s it. You know I’m not going to answer that question.”
The Mavericks are 45-29. They are in fifth place in the Western Conference standings and have played like an elite team on both ends since acquiring PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
“Yeah, of course. Those two guys that we got at the trade deadline, PJ and Gaff, they help us a lot,” Doncic said. “They never complain. They just play hard every play, and they are our two, I think, best defensive guys. We’ve got D. Jones (Derrick Jones Jr.), and everybody plays together. We have a five-man defense, which is very important. The whole team is special, man.”
Doncic led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals in 2022, where Dallas lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games. It will be fascinating to see how far the Mavericks go in the 2024 playoffs.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving are averaging a combined 59.3 points per game. They are one of the top duos in the NBA, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, “genuine fondness” exists between Luka and Kyrie.
Dallas acquired Irving from the Brooklyn Nets last season.
“Multiple team sources indicate that there is a genuine fondness between the stars,” Stein wrote. “One recent example shared with The Stein Line: At a 25th birthday party for Dončić in Toronto last month, Irving was the last Maverick to close down the soirée with Luka at night’s end. One more example: Earlier this week, when the Mavericks held an optional practice for low-minute players to get in some extra work on the morning after another road win in San Antonio, both Irving and Dončić unexpectedly attended the session and played in the pickup games. They clearly enjoy each other’s company.”
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