“We really want the kid” - Mark Cuban fell in love with Doncic after a 3-point performance against Westbrook and OKC Thunder
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The common perception that Luka Doncic’s impact is solely measured by high-scoring performances of 30-40 points per game is a misconception. Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s experience provides a compelling counterargument when he witnessed a 17-year-old Luka playing against Russell Westbrook and OKC Thunder.
Despite the Slovenian star dropping a subpar offensive performance, Cuban was left so impressed that he immediately prioritized acquiring the 6’7” point guard at all costs in the 2019 NBA draft.
Cuban on falling in love with Doncic
On ‘The Dan Patrick Show,’ Cuban was asked about his first impression of the Slovenian superstar and his reaction when he saw the point guard in action. The 65-year-old business tycoon shared that he instantly fell in love with a teenage Doncic right after watching a clip of him playing against Thunder during the 2016 preseason when they traveled to Spain to play friendlies with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"I watched a video of him playing against the Thunder and Russell Westbrook when he was 17," Mark said. "And so then it was a question of, 'OK, will we be able to draft him? Where will our draft slot be?'... From there, it was, 'How are we gonna figure this out?' because we really want the kid."
Some might think that, like Dirk Nowitzki's impressive 30-point performance against Team USA as an 18-year-old, Doncic would have done something equally amazing. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, Doncic scored just 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting, along with five rebounds and four assists in that game.
What stood out to Cuban was how Luka threw behind-the-back passes, made near half-court lobs, and used his body to shield defenders in pick-and-roll situations as if he had been playing in the NBA for years.
Cuban’s faith in Luka was repaid
The pressure has been exceedingly high on Luka to steer the Mavericks into their glorious past since he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks on draft day.
Despite the high expectations, the five-time All-Star has never backed down; rather, he has led the franchise to a Western Conference Finals and an NBA Finals appearance. Moreover, in just six years, he has already earned more All-NBA First Team nods than Stephen Curry.
Even though Cuban might no longer be the Mavs’ majority owner, his gutsy experiment and blind faith in Doncic will continue to make Dallas one of the most dominant teams challenging for the title in the West in the coming years.