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Luka Doncic 'Never Had a Doubt' About Signing Supermax Contract with Mavericks
August 10, 2021
Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic had no reservations about signing a supermax contract extension with the team.
While speaking to the media Tuesday, Doncic said: "I never had a doubt [about signing the extension]. I always wanted to sign this."
Per Spotrac, Doncic signed a five-year, $207.06 million extension with the Mavericks this week, allowing Dallas to lock up one of the most dynamic young talents in the NBA for the foreseeable future.
Just three years into his NBA career, Doncic is already one of the best players in the game. The 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year is a two-time All-Star, two-time first-team All-NBA selection and an MVP candidate the past two seasons.
With Doncic leading the way, the Mavs have reached the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Although they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round each time, Dallas clearly isn't far off, especially after pushing L.A. to seven games last postseason.
In 66 games last season, Doncic averaged 27.7 points, 8.6 assists and 8.0 rebounds per contest. That came on the heels of the 6'7" guard averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists the previous season.
If Doncic's value wasn't already obvious based on what he has done in Dallas, he proved it on the international stage as well, almost single-handedly leading Slovenia into the Olympic field and to the bronze-medal game at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The Mavs took a leap of faith when they made a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Doncic in 2018, but that move has worked out well for both teams so far.
Atlanta got Trae Young in that trade, and Young received a supermax extension this week as well after leading the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
The 22-year-old Doncic has all the tools needed to be a multitime NBA MVP and NBA champion, and the Mavericks are banking on the notion that he will realize those goals in Dallas.
While there was never any indication that Doncic would pass up a supermax extension with the Mavs, especially since no other team could offer him such a massive contract, his decision to sign is still a vote of confidence in the organization.
The Mavericks have made moves designed to put Doncic in a position to succeed since he entered the league, including acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks in January 2019.
Dallas may still need one more star in order to truly enter the upper echelon and contend for a championship, but now that Doncic is locked in, the Mavs have some time to figure out that part of the equation.