Luka Doncic had perfect message for Kings GM late in Mavericks win
When the Sacramento Kings welcomed the Dallas Mavericks to town on Friday night, the matchup marked an opportunity for head coach Mike Brown's group to take a big step in the direction of the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
But after the 107-103 loss to Luka Doncic and company, the Kings now sit as the No. 8 seed and are two games back from avoiding a play-in game this postseason.
The Mavericks now hold the No. 6 seed thanks to strong performances from their dynamic duo of Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who combined for 56 points in the win. Irving led the way with 30 points, while Doncic narrowly missed another triple-double, scoring 26 points with 12 assists and nine rebounds.
But the highlight of the game may have come after Doncic converted his game-sealing free throw with four seconds remaining to extend the lead to four points. After converting the attempt, Doncic apparently waved goodbye to Kings general manager Vlade Divac and said, "he should have drafted me" once back at the Dallas bench, as Sean Cunningham of FOX40 News revealed.
Doncic tossing out a bit of trash talk is telling in terms of how much Friday's victory meant to the Mavericks. It goes without saying at this point, but the Kings' draft blunder 2018 of passing on Doncic will likely haunt them for a long time.
The Atlanta Hawks technically drafted Doncic at No. 3 and traded him to the Mavericks for No. 5 pick Trae Young and a protected 2019 first-round selection. But before those two came off the board, the Phoenix Suns selected Deandre Ayton, and then the Kings took Marvin Bagley out of Duke. Bagley is currently on his third NBA team, the Washington Wizards.
Sacramento traded Bagley to the Detroit Pistons during the 2021-22 season. The ex-Blue Devil played in 148 games for the Kings, averaging 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds.
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