By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Playing with Luka Doncic at the Dallas Mavericks was exciting for Kyrie Irving. Even watching his former teammate in practice produced memorable moments.
During a recent Twitch stream, 33-year-old Irving recalled the Slovenian sensation dropping 24 points on a teammate during practice, in only three minutes. “I witnessed him give somebody 24 points in three minutes,” he mentioned.
Grant Williams, a Mavs player at the top end of the 2023-24 season, was the victim of the scoring explosion, as detailed by the assistant general manager, Michael Finley, about one year ago.
“A player in our team, I won’t call his name out, but it was Grant Williams, who decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin. He thought Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice,” he said, “To make a long story short, we had a scrimmage going, and he’s talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So, finally, Luka says, ‘Okay.’ And I tell you, Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody. I’m not exaggerating.”
Confirmation indeed arrived from other members of the front office and several players, now including Irving.
After six complete seasons with Dallas, the Ljubljana native was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the 2024-25 campaign. He is expected to soon pledge his future to the storied franchise with a multi-year contract extension.
Recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee and projected to sit out the top end of the 2025-26 Regular Season, Irving recently signed a three-year contract extension.