The Dallas Mavericks have quietly improved their roster in recent weeks after a disastrous 2022-23 season, and they’re hoping to join the ranks of very competitive teams in the Western Conference.
One of their new supporting players is forward Grant Williams, who comes to them from the Boston Celtics, one of the NBA’s elite teams.
While on “The Old Man & The Three” podcast, he talked about a budding rivalry between teammate Luka Doncic and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker.
“The one person that talks trash to me all the time always for some reason is Devin Booker,” said Williams. “Book always talks trash, and I remember if you look back at that Phoenix game during the regular season we played them — I think it was in Phoenix this year. If you just go back and watch the film and in your clips of it from the start, I’m talking because he said something. I hit a three and from then on it lit something and I was doing ‘too small’ — I don’t never celebrate, put my hand on the ground or rock the baby and stuff like that. So from that moment forward, I was doing that, and I think I scored I think seven, 14 or 17 or something like that that game, maybe more, and I remember talking trash the entire game to Book because for some reason he always like to draw chirp. I think that actually helps because we’re in Dallas now and Phoenix and him and Luka already have this little little beef going, whatever else you call it, so I might be able to join in on some awesome competitive vibes.”
In the spring of 2022, the Mavs and Suns met up in the second round of the playoffs for a series in which the Suns were strongly favored.
They took a 2-0 series lead and looked to have things in hand, only to lose the next two games, but when they took Game 5 easily, it once again looked like they were going to advance.
However, Doncic and Dallas won Game 6 in blowout fashion, then stunned Booker’s squad by handing them a humiliating 33-point defeat on their home court in Game 7.
The Suns are a dramatically different team now than they were then following the massive trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in recent months.
They have mortgaged their future for a run at an NBA championship with an extremely top-heavy team centered around the 34-year-old, injury-prone Durant, and many around the league are questioning the wisdom of their moves.
But no matter how much success the Suns have in this coming season’s playoffs, they should be an entertaining team to watch throughout the regular season, especially with Booker’s ability to get blisteringly hot as much as anyone else in the league.
NEXT: Grant Williams Explains How He Will Fit With Luka Doncic
