Dennis Smith Jr. made his NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2017-18 season. He finished fifth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting and displayed signs of promise, but he was traded to the New York Knicks after playing in 32 games with the Mavs in 2018-19. Dallas happened to have another young player make his debut in 2018-19, a player by the name of Luka Doncic. Smith did not get to play with Doncic for a significant amount of time, but he still got to witness Luka’s first days in the NBA.
Doncic is now arguably the best player in the league. So did Smith know that Doncic was going to become a superstar at the NBA level?
“I knew he was nice as h**l,” Smith said during a recent appearance on Run Your Race. “I didn’t know he was gonna be… I mean, I kind of did… I was always telling people, ‘he’s cold.’”
Dennis Smith Jr. was a fan of Luka Doncic before Mavericks drafted him
Smith also revealed three players that he felt made sense for the Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft.
“They acted like I had some kind of input on the draft… I was like, ‘I like Luka, I like Jaren Jackson and I’d say Mo Bamba,” Smith continued. “Those are the three people that I like. But he (Doncic) d**n-near best player in the world. Like, he’s up there. I ain’t know he was going to be this cold. I knew he was going to be special, but he otherworldly.”
How did Smith enjoy playing with Doncic on the Mavericks? Again, the two had limited time together in Dallas. Nevertheless, Smith was able to spend time with the Mavs star.
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“If you’ve been at practice with Luka, he does that all the time,” Smith said of Doncic making incredible shots. “Playing around, bro.”
In other words, even Doncic’s teammates are often left speechless by the shots he can make on the floor. The term “Luka Magic” has become quite popular, which references Doncic’s trick shots. Sure, Doncic is more than capable of making unbelievable shots during practices, at shoot-arounds, or before games, but he even makes jaw-dropping shots in games.
Doncic is currently battling a wrist injury as the Mavericks prepare to play the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
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