Mavericks Superstar Now In Line To Receive Largest Contract Ever

The third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Doncic has earned All-NBA First Team nods in each of the last five seasons. Named the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year, the 6-7” Slovenian has been an MVP candidate ever since. Since the 2019-20 season, he has finished fourth, sixth, fifth, eighth, and third in MVP voting.

This season was Doncic’s best finish when it comes to MVP voting. He won his first scoring title averaging an absurd 33.9 points per contest. Doncic also averaged the second-most assists (9.8), eighth-most steals (1.4), and 15th-most rebounds (9.2). Notably, Doncic averaged the most ppg, plus, apg plus, rpg since 1970. His 284 made three-pointers trailed only Stephen Curry for the league lead.

Doncic has a player option for the 2025-26 season that he in all likelihood will decline. It would be shocking if the Mavericks decided not to offer him the supermax in order to keep the superstar in town.

Will the Mavericks Reach the NBA Finals?

This is Doncic’s second time that his Dallas team has reached the Western Conference Finals. In 2022, the Mavericks made it that far but lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games. This season has been a vast improvement over 2022-23 where they didn’t even qualify for the Play-In Tournament. A full season with Kyrie Irving and in-season trades bringing in P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford truly raised the team’s ceiling.

The Mavericks have reached the NBA Finals twice since their inaugural season in 1980-81. In 2006, they lost to the Miami Heat in six games. They were able to get revenge five years later in 2011, beating Miami in six games for their first and only championship. After their Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves, the Mavericks are -165 favorites to win the series according to DraftKings Sportsbook. They also list them at +340 to win the 2024 NBA Finals. Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals takes place in Minnesota on Friday.