Luka Doncic likely has to deal with hecklers on a regular basis during the course of an NBA season, but former Dallas Mavericks forward and current special advisor Dirk Nowitzki may be able to get away with teasing his former Mavericks teammate.
Doncic and the Slovenian men’s national basketball team beat Sweden 84-81 Sunday during a FIBA World Cup qualifier game. With Doncic shooting a pair of free throws during the first quarter, the crowd broke out into chants of “overrated!” that were geared towards Doncic. After Doncic made the second shot, cameras showed Nowitzki sitting court-side and jokingly joining in on the chant.
https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1543619297943007232
Doncic didn’t seem to take the chants too seriously, as he had a warm greeting for the future Hall of Famer after the game.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1543690400581537792
Nowitzki and Doncic were teammates during Doncic’s rookie season in 2018, and the 14-time All-Star was impressed with Doncic’s game. Doncic even broke out Nowitzki’s signature move during the 2021 playoffs.
Doncic’s play last season wouldn’t likely be categorized as overrated. He averaged 28.4 points (third-most in the NBA), 9.1 rebounds, 8.7 assists (fifth-most in the NBA), and shot 45.7 percent from the field. Doncic led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated in five games by the Golden State Warriors.
