The 2022-23 season couldn’t have gone worse for the Dallas Mavericks as they missed the postseason entirely despite coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance the year prior.
The Mavericks seemed to be caught in malaise over the course of the season and tried to rectify things by landing Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline.
However, that experience blew up in the franchise’s face as Luka Doncic and Irving failed to build much cohesion when sharing the court together.
Despite flaming out down the stretch of the season, Dallas decided to run things back and re-sign Irving to a three-year deal in free agency.
Losing Irving for nothing in the summer would’ve been disastrous, so re-signing him is the only move that made sense.
However, the Mavericks’ chances of competing next season still largely rely on Doncic and he seems to be intent on showing the world he’s still one of the best players as he has been dominating group play during the 2023 FIBA World Cup via StatMuse.
Luka Doncic today:
34 PTS
10 REB
6 AST
3 STLAveraging 36/9/6 in the first two games of FIBA competition. pic.twitter.com/DwklTeCjbe
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 28, 2023
Doncic has been one of the best international players since he turned pro and his recent stats only reinforce that idea.
So far, Doncic has led his native Slovenia to two wins over Venezuela and Georgia and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The Mavericks star is built for FIBA play as he’s got the size and physicality to do whatever he wants on the floor.
Even if Slovenia doesn’t win a medal, Dallas has to feel encouraged by the level of play that Doncic is displaying right now.
NEXT: Paul George Makes Strong Prediction About Luka Doncic’s Career
