4th franchise Division Championship

[NeedlesKane]

Why are we not satisfied with that? Why does that also not sound right? Spurs have been clearly dominant. 21 years of Dirk and he probably didn't even have all 4 of the division titles. That is insane to me!

Anyway, this is Luka's 3rd season, and we're already division champs. We MUST keep him in Dallas at all cost. I LOVE Dirk, but Luka is the greatest thing to happen to Dallas. Also I thank Dirk for helping this happen.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by NeedlesKane

Why are we not satisfied with that? Why does that also not sound right? Spurs have been clearly dominant. 21 years of Dirk and he probably didn't even have all 4 of the division titles. That is insane to me!

Anyway, this is Luka's 3rd season, and we're already division champs. We MUST keep him in Dallas at all cost. I LOVE Dirk, but Luka is the greatest thing to happen to Dallas. Also I thank Dirk for helping this happen.

It has been an up and down season, and the team has been extremely frustrating at times.

But if you told me at the beginning of the year that the Mavs would win the division and finish with the 5th seed, I would have been more than happy with that. It hasn't always felt like it, but this season has indeed been a success for the Mavericks.

For no particular reason though, we need to fire Carlisle.

[FreshJive]

The Mavs are the greatest thing that has ever existed imo

[SMC0007]

Hip hip horrrayyy

[sefant77]

[Dallas41]

Originally Posted by NeedlesKane

Why are we not satisfied with that? Why does that also not sound right? Spurs have been clearly dominant. 21 years of Dirk and he probably didn't even have all 4 of the division titles. That is insane to me!

Anyway, this is Luka's 3rd season, and we're already division champs. We MUST keep him in Dallas at all cost. I LOVE Dirk, but Luka is the greatest thing to happen to Dallas. Also I thank Dirk for helping this happen.

Nope the 1st one was with Ro Blackmon, Mark Aguirre, D.Harper, Roy Tarpley and company.

I think winning the division back in those days carried more weight.

I believe you were guranteed a top 3 or 4 seed back then...

Also, I might be the minority here but I still think Luka has a long ways to go before I put him on Dirk's level.

Dirk carried this franchise to like 12 straight 50 win seasons and two NBA finals in which he got completely robbed back in 06.

Luka is great and the younger generation of Mavs fans probably missed a great deal of Dirk's best years.

But IMO #41 is the greatest Mavs player ever and top 10-15 of All Time regardless of what the bias media says

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

Nope the 1st one was with Ro Blackmon, Mark Aguirre, D.Harper, Roy Tarpley and company.

I think winning the division back in those days carried more weight.

I believe you were guranteed a top 3 or 4 seed back then...

Also, I might be the minority here but I still think Luka has a long ways to go before I put him on Dirk's level.

Dirk carried this franchise to like 12 straight 50 win seasons and two NBA finals in which he got completely robbed back in 06.

Luka is great and the younger generation of Mavs fans probably missed a great deal of Dirk's best years.

But IMO #41 is the greatest Mavs player ever and top 10-15 of All Time regardless of what the bias media says

If you're comparing the totality of their careers, of course Dirk comes out way ahead of Luka. Top 10 is a stretch, but Dirk is comfortably in the top 20 all-time.

But Luka in year 3 is way ahead of where Dirk was at year three. I don't think it's media bias to say that Luka is a bigger talent than Dirk and has the potential for a better career than Dirk.

[markus1234]

Young Dirk had some nice playoff games vs. MIN and SAS. During reg. season his leash was much shorter than Luka's. So there's little sense to compare their impact.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by markus1234

Young Dirk had some nice playoff games vs. MIN and SAS. During reg. season his leash was much shorter than Luka's. So there's little sense to compare their impact.

It's useful just to illustrate how otherworldly amazing Luka has been so far. Seriously, if you want to compare other players who have been this good this fast, you have to look to names like Bird and Magic. It is no insult to Dirk at all to say that he wasn't as good as Luka at Luka's age. Only a handful of players ever have been.

Here is the entire list of players in NBA history in the shot clock era who made all-NBA first team at age 21 or younger.

Rick Barry
Tim Duncan
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Luka Doncic

A list of players who made all-NBA first team in their sophomore years would be longer, but not much. It would include names like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wes Unseld, and Larry Bird. Among names that would NOT be on that list though are Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and pretty much anyone else you can think of.

The fact that Dirk's leash was shorter doesn't make it wrong to compare the two. Dirk's leash was shorter because he wasn't as good. Not close, honestly. Dirk didn't break out as a superstar until he was about 24-25.

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

It's useful just to illustrate how otherworldly amazing Luka has been so far. Seriously, if you want to compare other players who have been this good this fast, you have to look to names like Bird and Magic. It is no insult to Dirk at all to say that he wasn't as good as Luka at Luka's age. Only a handful of players ever have been.

Here is the entire list of players in NBA history in the shot clock era who made all-NBA first team at age 21 or younger.

Rick Barry
Tim Duncan
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Luka Doncic

A list of players who made all-NBA first team in their sophomore years would be longer, but not much. It would include names like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wes Unseld, and Larry Bird. Among names that would NOT be on that list though are Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and pretty much anyone else you can think of.

The fact that Dirk's leash was shorter doesn't make it wrong to compare the two. Dirk's leash was shorter because he wasn't as good. Not close, honestly. Dirk didn't break out as a superstar until he was about 24-25.

No doubt Luka is out to a much quicker start. But he is, in many ways, following in the footsteps of Magic and Lebron as an oversized, do it all point guard. Dirk, on the other hand, had to blaze his own trail.

There had been a few good shooting big men, but never before did a 7 footer dominate the game from the outside. Dirk had to convince his coach, his league and himself that such a thing was even possible. The NBA is a different game because Dirk stretched the floor. Embid and the Joker are competing for MVP now because Dirk proved big men could hit the three.

Luka may well surpass Dirk someday. But not unless he does this for at least 10 years.