Kristaps Porzingis says his fit with Luka Doncic at Dallas Mavericks wouldn't have worked out
At one point in time, it seemed as though the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were the future of the league. With Doncic widely considered to be the future of the sport, and Porzingis eager to return to form after battling injuries in New York, things were looking up.
With Dirk Nowitzki's retirement in Dallas, the duo of Doncic and Porzingis seemed to fill the massive European basketball gap left by the NBA champion. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. In Porzingis' first season, he played in 57 games for the Mavericks. From there, things only got worse as he played in 14 fewer games the following season.
By the time the 2021-22 season came around, there were already questions about Porzingis' fit with the team. With the big man missing considerable time as a result of injuries, he seemed to be struggling to find his rhythm in his handful of appearances. After a knee bruise forced him out of a January 2022 game against the Indiana Pacers, the Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis.
While he is thriving in Washington as a member of the Wizards, Porzingis still doesn't believe he and Doncic would have played well together. He spoke in a recent interview about their playstyles, saying:
"It wasn’t the right fit. That’s it. We had some good moments. That first year before the bubble, I started playing really well. Then in the bubble, we started playing really well together. Then I was hurt the second year and I wasn’t as effective. I could’ve played better in Dallas."
"But with my style of play, long-term I don’t think it would’ve worked out, anyway. It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to, but Luka is a superstar. He’s an incredible player. He’s got to keep going and keep doing his thing." - via NBA
You can see some of their highlights together in the video above from their 123-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs last season.
Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic's relationship
Although Kristaps Porzingis chalked things up to the two men's playing styles being incompatible, there were rumors that more was happening behind the scenes. At the time, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban simply stated that the two were very different people.
Although the two weren't the best of friends off the court, the way Cuban saw things, they could still win together like Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki. While many were over-analyzing his comments, he simply viewed the situation as part of the process of managing young players.
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Several months later, however, Stephen A Smith spoke about the situation, calling for an end to the Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis experiment in Dallas.
“Kristaps Porzingis is not seen as having the greatest relationship with Luka Doncic. As a matter of fact, some people have accused him of being jealous… I’m telling you what I’m hearing from my sources in Dallas… Porzingis probably needs to go. They need to utilize him to get a bonafide secondary scoring option.”
Although the two men are both finding success on their own, it will always be fun to wonder 'what if things worked out?'
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