The NBA has seen many overseas talent come and go over the years, with some leaving an underlying stamp on the league. The Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is one of them. Over the years in the NBA, he has been among the most exciting players. In addition, he has single-handedly carried the Mavs in recent seasons.
In relevance to this, former Boston Celtics stars Jeff Teague and Evan Turner opened up on a hilarious story involving Jayson Tatum. Not only that, the two stars also spoke about Doncic’s clutch gameplay against their side back in 2021. This was due to Doncic scoring the winning basket against the Celtics, which amazed the two stars.
He (Luka Doncic) hit the shot, looked at him, and yelled, ‘I told you!’ I was like, damn that motherf****er cold! We celebrating and sh*t, I’m like, ‘JT (Jayson Tatum), that’s some bullsh*t.’ What made it so fire is that we go in there and JT is like, ‘Luka better than me?’ ET (Evan Turner) was like, ‘Damn near.’
Jeff Teague via the Club 520 Podcast
Things have changed a lot since 2021. Tatum has now participated in two NBA finals. Meanwhile, Doncic made the most recent NBA finals. Interestingly, Tatum and Doncic faced off against each other in the 2024 NBA Finals. Tatum won the title but did not win the Finals MVP trophy, which went to teammate Jaylen Brown.
Despite Jayson Tatum and his side getting the better of Doncic, the latter’s numbers were better than Tatum’s. Doncic averaged 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, while Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 38.8% from the field. It remains to be seen if the duo competes against one another down the line.
Skip Bayless made a bold claim regarding Luka Doncic after the 2024 NBA Finals
The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic received a lot of criticism after his dismal finals loss. Given the season he had, a loss in only five games was disappointing for many. Renowned TV presenter Skip Bayless took the opportunity to bash on the Slovenian superstar.
It is interesting to note that Bayless was backing the Mavs throughout the 2023-24 season. They struggled to give the Celtics a run for their money. As such, after the Mavs’ loss to the Boston Celtics, Bayless claimed that he ‘lost respect’ for Doncic.
I lost respect for Luka because I had gained so much this year during the regular season… He has been a horrible shooter for years. But all of a sudden he went to somebody’s lab last offseason and he came back dramatically improved.
Skip Bayless via Undisputed
Bayless confessed that he hadn’t been Doncic’s biggest fan during the last five years. The analyst ‘laughed’ at Doncic’s shooting, his free throws, and Larry Bird parallels. However, that changed during the regular season. Unfortunately, it did not last long, as Doncic’s three-point shooting in the Finals shifted Bayless’ opinion once more.
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