Luka Doncic is putting up crazy MVP numbers but Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie has spoken about the disadvantages of playing alongside such a talented young man.
Dinwiddie explained that because Doncic is at such a high level, he receives all the praise and attention from the media and when the team isn’t doing well, everyone except Doncic cops the blame.
“Luka is obviously far and away our superstar, and we have other guys who are good players obviously,” Dinwiddie said on Outta Pocket. “But because there’s not another superstar, it’s not apples to apples, it’s always gonna be Luka and the boys. So you just got to be mentally tough and be built for that off the court, because like I said, on the court he’s going to make it a lot easier.
“You guys work in the media, and you know that storylines are king, right? So, we have a 23-year-old savant — it’s very easy to say [‘Luka needs help’]. Luka’s amazing, he’s been the prodigy from the beginning. So it’s always gonna be like that because his star power is so much further beyond ours. And in a lot of ways he makes the game easier for us. Because of that, you’re just gonna have to deal with some media backlash sometimes off the court.”
Doncic is absolutely putting in the work the season, and has appeared in 43 of 48 total games the Mavs have played and is averaging 37.5 minutes on 33.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent shooting from three as the team’s main ball handler.
Meanwhile, Dinwiddie is averaging 16.8 points, three rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the field, as the team’s third highest point scorer on average behind Christian Wood and Doncic respectively.