OKLAHOMA CITY – Luka Dončić may never have a regular season like he’s had this year.
There may never be another Maverick who does.
It’s been that special.
While the Mavericks’ superstar point guard did not play in the final two regular-season games, including Sunday’s finale at the Oklahoma City Thunder in which a skeleton crew for the Mavericks lost 135-86, he put together a season for the ages before that.
The final numbers will include 33.9 points per game, which will lead the NBA. He becomes the first Maverick to lead the league in scoring in the franchise’s 44-year history.
Tack on 9.2 rebounds per game, 9.8 assists per game, 1.4 steals per game and a 48.7 percent shooting clip (38.2 from three-point land) and it’s a season like nobody else has had.
He finished first in scoring, second in assists and 15th in rebounding.
He had 21 triple-doubles, including six in a row with at least 30 points.
Not a bad year, right?
“It’s an MVP season when you look at what he’s done for us,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Being consistent, leading the league in scoring, winning 50 games, being able to fill the stat sheet nightly, deliver down the stretch, get stops knowing that they’re going to call him into the pick-and-roll and make him a part of the play on the defensive end – he’s one of our leaders.”
Dončić has answered every question when it comes to making an MVP argument.
“To be able to answer that call, he’s answered it to the highest,” Kidd said. “He’s already started rewriting the Mavs’ record book and will continue to rewrite it.”
Coach of the year material? Several candidates can make a claim for the NBA’s coach of the year award, but you can make a strong argument for Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault.
The Thunder finished with a 17-game improvement over last season, in which they had a 16-game improvement over the 2021-22 season.
They became just the fourth team in NBA history to improve by at least 16 games in consecutive seasons.
Perhaps summing up his coaching strategy for the young Thunder, Daigneault said before Sunday’s game: “We just don’t want to be a team that’s easy to get a layup against.”
That’s played out in the form of the Thunder’s defense. Not only were they one of the most efficient offensive teams in the league, they finished in the top five in defensive rating.
“Oklahoma had a plan,” Kidd said before Sunday’s game. “They hired a young coach with a young team and they developed together. They’ve gone through the ups and downs of the last couple seasons and have the opportunity to finish first in the West, which would probably lead also to coach of the year for Mark.
“He’s done an incredible job and this year you can see everything has come together.”
Briefly: The Mavericks had trouble getting out of the gate against the Thunder, falling behind by 17 points after a quarter. With just under four minutes to go in the first half, they were down 70-31 and the rest was merely window dressing . . . They had just nine players in uniform. The missing: Dončić (left ankle soreness), Kyrie Irving (left hamstring soreness), Dante Exum (right foot sprain), Daniel Gafford (right elbow soreness), Derrick Jones Jr. (left shoulder sprain), Maxi Kleber (back spasms), Dereck Lively II (right knee sprain) and P.J. Washington Jr (right ankle sprain) . . . While the game was unimportant for the Mavericks, it was majorly important for the young Thunder, who were trying to secure the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They built a quick double-figure lead behind center Chet Holmgren, who had 13 points and nine rebounds by the time the Thunder were up by 39 points in the second quarter. They will await the results of the play-in tournament to find out who their opponent will be with the eighth seed . . . The Mavericks were led by Olivier Maxence-Prosper. Before the game, Kidd said the 6-8 rookie could play 40 minutes in the season finale. He wasn’t far off. Prosper followed up his 16 point game on Friday against Detroit with 15 points and eight rebounds against the Thunder. Kidd summed up the goal on Sunday before the game: “The biggest thing is to come out of this healthy.” To that end, the Mavericks had a successful season finale . . . The best showing from a Maverick was by two-way player Brandon Williams, who poured in 22 points, but needed 21 shots to get there . . . Williams, by the way, will be in the playoffs for the first time. He spent his only other season in the league with Portland in 2021-22 and the Blazers did not make the playoffs. “It’s my first time. I’ve never been there. I can’t wait for that,” he said. “I’m from LA, so I get to go back home and spend time with family. But the main thing is to go in there and try to steal two wins.”
X: @ESefko
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