Dirk Nowitzki is among the highest-profile basketball moguls who arrived in Ljubljana for Goran Dragic’s celebratory game. The former Dallas Mavericks legend and NBA Hall of Famer came up with some interesting quotes around basketball and, of course, his former teammate Luka Doncic.
Nowitzki’s final season of his enormous basketball career was the first one in the NBA for Luka Doncic. The German legend spoke about his experience mentoring Doncic and why the Slovenian megastar established himself as one of the top players in the NBA despite his young age.
“The transition was pretty smooth for him. I played with him for one year; my last year was his first year. I think we all didn’t know how good he was,” the German NT legend noted via Basketnews.
“Honestly, if you watch him, he plays like a 35-year-old,” Nowitzki replied. “He’s so smart, wicked smart, wicked basketball IQ. What he sees on the floor, I never saw, so it’s not like I can tell him, ‘Pass there; he knows better.”
Luka has taken the NBA by storm since the 2018–2019 season. He put up 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in his rookie season playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki, and he has already been a strong candidate to win the MVP award during the past three seasons.
During the past season, he put up 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists in the regular season to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their first final appearance since 2011.
“We talk basketball often, every now and then, but it’s not like I have to mentor him much. He is who he is; he’s an incredible talent and an incredible player, and we were just fortunate to be there in the first year when he just found his play and really grew into one of our best players,” Dirk Nowitzki admitted.
Luka Doncic is set to be among the participants for Goran Dragic’s farewell event, The Night of the Dragon, where he will play a charity basketball game alongside Nikola Jokic, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and others.
