Kyrie Irving Called 'Amazing' by Luka Dončić in Mavericks Debut After Nets Trade

It has only been one game, but Luka Dončić already likes what he sees from his newest Dallas Mavericks teammate.

Dončić called Kyrie Irving "amazing" in an interview with ESPN's Tim MacMahon after Irving had a team-high 24 points in Wednesday's 110-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The eight-time All-Star shot 9-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 on threes while filling out the stat sheet with four rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block.

All in all, it wasn't a debut for the ages, but Irving did enough to get Mavs fans excited about his partnership with Dončić. After the game, he said how he made a concerted effort to get his teammates involved.

"I think the most important thing that we stressed as a team was just don't force the ball to me," Irving told reporters. "We talked about that as a squad where we just want to play natural basketball. You don't always have to come to me. I can play off the ball, I can cut."

A heel injury has forced Dončić to miss the last three games. The Mavericks have road games against the Sacramento Kings on Friday and Saturday. Head coach Jason Kidd left the door open for the four-time All-Star to return for one of those two contests.

Purely in terms of their fit on the court, Irving and Dončić should be a great match.

Irving is used to playing off a ball-dominant star, be it LeBron James, Kevin Durant or James Harden—although the latter was for a brief stretch. Dončić, meanwhile, could use another playmaker considering his 38.5 percent career usage rate is on pace to be the highest of his career, per Basketball Reference.

Away from the court may present the biggest issue, as Irving has caused multiple issues for his teams over the past few years. Most recently, Irving was suspended for eight games with the Nets after he promoted an antisemitic film on social media and then refused to condemn antisemitism when speaking to reporters.

Irving returned after posting an apology on Instagram, but he had deleted the apology prior to his introductory press conference as a member of the Mavericks. When asked whether he stood by the apology, he told reporters he stands by "who I am and why I apologized."

As far as his on-court partnership with Dončić, though, they could play together for the first time this weekend, when the Mavericks play the Kings in Sacramento on a Friday-Saturday double-header.