“Threw me off!” Luka Doncic left LeBron James’ ex-teammate STUNNED during first encounter

Former NBA player JR Smith recently made a bold assertion regarding the Dallas Mavericks star man Luka Doncic.

“Threw me off!” Luka Doncic left LeBron James’ ex-teammate STUNNED during first encounter

J.R. Smith and Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been one of the most exciting players in the NBA. He has consistently delivered consistently at the highest levels for his side in the league. When Doncic newly arrived in the NBA, many players doubted the Mavs star during his rookie year. Former NBA player J.R. Smith was one of them.

Regarding this, Smith recently opened up on the Nightcap show alongside NFL great Shannon Sharpe. The two spoke about various topics in and around the NBA and its players. The talk about Doncic gathered the utmost attention of the NBA fans. Smith claimed on the show that Doncic’s gameplay left him ‘stunned.’

How would you let him post you up? I got next to him ‘okay I see why’ to me, it’s a lot of his pace. You can’t speed him up and you cant slow him down. It’s an unathletic version of what James Harden was doing and talking shit doe, that’s what threw me off!!

JR Smith said on the Nightcap Show
YouTube video

Ever since his arrival, Doncic has proved his doubters wrong, and Smith is just one of them. During the 2023-24 NBA season, he led the Mavs to the WCF Finals win alongside Kyrie Irving. Not only that, he also led his side to the 2024 NBA Finals but fell to the Boston Celtics. In addition, Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds in 70 games in 2023-24.

FS Video

Going into the 2024-25 NBA season, he is as motivated as ever to go all the way with his side. The addition of veteran Klay Thompson alongside him and Irving has given the Mavs fans hopes to achieve something great this season. It remains to be seen how Doncic performs throughout the 2024-25 NBA season, barring any injuries.

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JR Smith picked Kyrie Irving over Luka Doncic for the 2024-25 NBA MVP award

Throughout a season, the MVP race consistently emerges as one of the NBA’s most captivating subplots. By the looks of it, many NBA fans and experts have gone with their ideal picks relevant to this past season’s performances. However, JR Smith’s unconventional prediction for the 2024–25 season MVP winner is already putting an end to all the chaos.

Smith did not choose Los Angeles Lakers superstar and former teammate LeBron James. He chose Kyrie Irving, a star player for the Dallas Mavericks, who made the largest shot in the 2016 NBA Finals. Surprisingly, he did not even choose Luka Doncic, who factually had a better 2023-24 season than Irving. Check out what Smith wrote on X below:

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The league has plenty of other talents vying for the MVP award. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic always finds himself in the conversation. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, and others will also remain contenders for the award. As such, Irving must help the Mavericks secure a top finish and outshine others to win the prestigious award.