(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
In the NBA, the era of the superteam is over, as teams have largely been opting to go with a duo of stars or superstars and plenty of depth around that duo.
The Dallas Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals two years ago behind Luka Doncic, but they needed more offensive oomph, so they traded for Kyrie Irving midway through last season.
There were major questions about whether the two, who are both very ball-dominant, could mesh, but they have done just that, which led an NBA executive to call them the league’s best duo, per Hoops Wire via NBACentral.
“Luka and Kyrie are the best duo in the NBA. Their chemistry on the court is off the charts. They complement each other so well and they genuinely like each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas makes a serious run in the playoffs. I don’t see a defense stopping Luka and Kyrie… pic.twitter.com/TRKgJZPRkv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 8, 2024
In his six pro seasons, Doncic has seemingly only gotten better with time, and this season, he’s leading everyone with 33.9 points a game while also averaging 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per contest and shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range, which is by far a career-high.
Meanwhile, Irving continues to do his usual work with averages of 25.8 points and 5.1 assists per game.
One question surrounding the pairing of the two was whether Irving, who is an enigmatic figure, would remain committed to the Mavs, but he has been on his best behavior ever since relocating there from the Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavs are now one of the NBA’s hottest teams, and by winning 14 of their last 16 games, they have risen to fifth place in the Western Conference.
If there is a concern for them, it’s now their frontcourt — they don’t get much scoring from their forwards and centers, and they don’t have any legitimate scoring threats in general other than Doncic and Irving.
But there is lots of parity in the West outside of the defending world champion Denver Nuggets, and thus Dallas could very well reach the conference finals once again.
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