Seventy-three points. That was Luka Dončić’s total when he led the Dallas Mavericks to a victory over the Atlanta Hawks last season. He wasn’t the only NBA player to have an explosion on offense that season – think Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns. And the league subsequently decided to change officiating to favor more physical play that would presumably cut down on high offensive output.
That’s how Tim MacMahon sees it. The veteran ESPN writer has covered Dončić since the Slovenian’s arrival in Dallas as one of the most heralded European talents in NBA history. He saw Dončić live up to his billing, leading the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA finals last year. And he knew that even a change in rules wouldn’t stop Dončić’s stepback three.
“I mean, there’s just not a lot of ways you can guard him,” MacMahon says. “If he’s not the best passer in the league, he’s top two or three … He sees the floor as well as maybe anybody who played the game.”
MacMahon is the author of a new book on Dončić – The Wonder Boy: Luka Dončić and the Curse of Greatness. It came out on Tuesday, and in case you were wondering, yes, there is a Texas-sized postscript to the story.
Related: The Mavs are on fire after the Dončić trade. Don’t expect them to put it out
In February, the Mavs traded their star – who, according to the book, they had previously invested countless time and effort trying to get to stay in Dallas. Dončić was off to the Los Angeles Lakers, while Anthony Davis went to the Mavs.
“Obviously, it was a major plot twist,” MacMahon says.
He and his publisher had to scramble. (Insert your comparisons to an NBA team adjusting on the fly to the fast break.) There were 8,000 copies of the book already at the printer. MacMahon did his part, adding a final chapter.
Even before the trade, MacMahon says, “a lot of Mavericks fans are upset that the book is being written. It was not blessed by Luka … Certain parts of the book are critical of him.”
However, the author says, “One promise I made to Luka via his representatives was that I would not delve into his personal life.”
What’s present, by and large, is a portrayal that’s respectful, candid – and lyrical in describing Dončić’s many achievements on the court over five-plus seasons.
Dončić came to the Mavs having first drawn their attention while playing as a teenager for the elite Spanish team Real Madrid. He joined a Dallas organization that was as full of unhealthy machinations as Game of Thrones, to use MacMahon’s comparison. Rivalries simmered in the Texas heat between the then-owner, then-GM and then-coach – Mark Cuban, ...
