Doncic, the in-your-face of the NBA

His 3-point strike over Rudy Gobert, accompanied with words, puts the Mavericks up 2-0 in the Western Finals.

The answer is Cameron Reddish, in case someone asks you how Dallas became Luka Doncic’s base camp.

In the 2018 draft, Atlanta picked third and Dallas fifth. Dallas was fixated on Doncic, then playing for Real Madrid. After Phoenix had led off the draft with Arizona center DeAndre Ayton and Sacramento had chosen Marvin Bagley from Duke, they ran Doncic’s card to the draft podium.

Mavericks’ general manager Donn Nelson picked Trae Young of Oklahoma, who had led Division I in scoring and assists — the Caitlin Clark of his time, in other words. Nelson also knew Young was a ball-dominator, and Doncic was a league-dominator, even as a teenager. So Dallas offered Atlanta Young, plus a first-round pick in the 2019 draft that figured to be pretty juicy, since the Mavericks were repositioning themselves. That first-rounder turned out to be Reddish, who had executed the shoot-and-run in his only year at Duke. Atlanta took Reddish with the 10th pick in 2019, and he has been on four NBA teams since, averaging 5.4 points for the Lakers in 2023-24. That’s how Doncic came to Big D. On Friday night he personified it.

The Mavericks were grimly hunting down Minnesota in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. They were down two points with 13 seconds left, and Anthony Edwards had the ball for the hosts. But Edwards got caught in traffic and threw the ball past Naz Reid, out of bounds.

Doncic came downcourt with a host of options. He got the requisite high screen and found himself guarded by Rudy Gobert, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Gobert got that award because of what he does in the lane, because he rebounds and blocks shots. Here, he was 25 feet from the basket, stranded like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away.” Doncic, unhurried as always, made Gobert step back over an invisible cliiff and then rose up for a 3-pointer. Gobert lunged, but the train had left the station. Doncic hit the three for a one-point lead and then hissed at Gobert with unusual anger. Forensic lipreaders reported that Doncic said “You can’t guard me,” bracketed by epithets unsuitable for a family Substack.

Reid missed Minnesota’s final shot, and Dallas had won, 109-108, after trailing Minnesota by 12 at halftime. That creates a 2-0 series lead, and the next two are in Dallas. Edwards wasn’t overly worried, noting that the Timberwolves were behind Denver, 3-2, in the previous series but “then we won at their crib.” But losing two games at one’s own crib is normally a prescription for a lullaby. It is difficult to see how the venue, no matter where it is, would negatively affect Doncic.

The Slovenian hit five 3-pointers and scored 32 with 10 rebounds and 13 assists. The fact that Doncic was the nerve center of Dallas’ charge was absolutely fine with Kyrie Irving, whose intermittent unhappiness seemed to have disappeared when he lined up with Doncic. Irving was the headliner in Game 1, and he had a strong fourth quarter on Friday, but the 90.5 percent free-thrower missed two with 1:34 left, when the Mavericks were down by three. Edwards’ two foul shots gave Minnesota a five-point edge, but Irving struck with a 3-pointer that brought Doncic within artillery range.

When it was over, coach Jason Kidd brought the Mavs together in their room, smiled and said, “Free throws, on three.”

As much of the NBA community rolled its eyes over yet another fresh start by Irving, he recognized the horn o’ plenty that Doncic would provide. Most defenses will try to take the ball out of a star’s hands at the end. That becomes more difficult when four hands, not just two, are involved. Doncic led the NBA in scoring by nearly four points a game, and he also led in 3-pointers made and attempted. He was second in minutes and assists and came within a rebound and an assist per game of averaging a triple double. Over a 23-game period he averaged 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. 

The MVP discussion did not really include Doncic, however, as the Mavericks made a stealthy run to the No. 5 playoff spot in the West. He was third to Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. You can’t reopen that book, but Doncic is Jordan-esque in voicing his revenge. One reason he cursed out Gobert was a hard “take” foul that the Stifle Tower gave Doncic in the first half. But Doncic has been just as biting in ridiculing Sacramento’s fans for the drafting of Bagley. He also has become the head of the players’ complaint department over refereeing, which is quite a distinction, and he has 58 technicals over the past four seasons. That is all part of the package, as long as Doncic is fueled and not distracted.

What’s most remarkable is that Doncic only became eligible to rent a car on Feb. 28. He is a young 25 and yet has made five All-NBA first teams. And each year he adds physical strength and offensive diversity. Minnesota has the best defense in the league, statistically, so Doncic has incessantly gotten rebounds and thrown perfect post patterns to Dallas’ running teammates. His outlet passes and lobs are like ambrosia for big men Daniel Gafford and 19-year-old Dereck Lively. Together they were 14 for 16, approximately from a combined 20 feet, and Lively had nine rebounds and Gafford five blocks. In one sequence Gafford blocked a shot, sprinted downcourt, got the ball, lost his footing, and tossed it netward while he was sitting on the floor. The shot went in, showing that Dallas was winning the vibe.

When Dallas acquired Gafford and P.J. Washington at the trade deadline, Doncic’s fans back in Slovenia — which is to say, all Slovenians — couldn’t see the logic. But Sasa, Doncic’s dad and the head of the Slovenian Basketball Association, knew his son would finally get what he needed: a big target underneath and another 3-pointer shooter who could defend. “See you in June,” Sasa told his friends.

Sasa was a pro player in Slovenia (also the home of longtime L.A. Kings star center Anze Kopitar) and his wife Mirjam was a beauty parlor owner and also, at one point, a Miss Slovenia candidate and a host of a TV show similar to Wheel of Fortune. Luka was taken with basketball as soon as he could walk. He was playing against and with 14 year olds when he was nine. He was in the Real Madrid program when he was 13, which allowed him to make Spanish his fourth language.

He also was the MVP of the Euroleague when he was 19, as Real Madrid won its 10th title. He led Slovenia into the 2001 Olympics and, in the Covid-induced silence of Tokyo, debuted with a 48-point game in beating Argentina. Then he put together the first triple-double in Olympic history against France, Gobert’s team. That game was a one-point loss. That, too, might have fed the bile Friday night.

“I was speaking Slovenian,” Doncic said.

“I didn’t hear what he said,” Gobert said, when informed of the substance of Doncic’s remarks. “But he says that every night.”

Until someone shuts down Doncic, no one should expect him to shut up. Or to stop trying to square the score. On Dec. 27, Doncic even went outside his personal orbit, hitting 25 of 33 shots overall and eight of 13 three-point tries. He wound up with 73 points, the fourth-most epicurean game in league history. The opponent was the Atlanta Hawks, although Cameron Reddish was nowhere to be found.