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Debate

Can Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson lead the Mavericks to a championship amidst the Jokic hype?

The NBA stars are in China, but it gave us the perfect dream scenario we never knew we needed. With the Jordan Brand athletes Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Paolo Banchero and Jayson Tatum in Asia, it was time for them to give the other side of the globe a taste of the NBA. The quartet were in the Next Stop Dongdan streetball tournament to dazzle the crowd and that’s where the fans found a dream partnership.

In a video posted by Overtime, Luka Doncic and Zion combined for a picturesque alley-oop much to the jubilation of the crowd. Even fans on social media can’t get enough of it as it triggered their desire to see the duo together despite the Nikola Jokic buzz. Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki recently wished to see the Serbian teaming up with the Slovenian in the blue and black colors of the franchise someday. But pulling that off is realistically impossible, so the fans are now dreaming about a Doncic-Zion pairing.

Fans demand Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson link-up after dazzling display in China

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Luka lobs to Zion is cinema”, a fan commented, after seeing the action unfold. Throughout the previous campaign, Luka Doncic set up multiple alley-oop finishes for his teammates, most notably Dereck Lively II and PJ Washington. The Mavs fans had flashbacks of those instances with Zion Williamson in the scoring end. The Pelicans forward’s robustness around the opposing rim is a massive threat and the streetball opponents saw that firsthand.

In another clip posted by MFFL Nation, the same action is highlighted with a fan recalling how Salah Mejri ruined Zion’s potential draft to the Mavs. “Salah Mejri prevented thus from happening on a regular basis”, he wrote. The Mavs finished 14th in the 2018-19 season and Mejri played his heart out at the end of the regular season in the games the franchise were supposed to tank for a better draft rank. Zion Williamson was the top prospect of the 2019 draft class, hence tanking a few games could’ve helped the Mavs finish bottom of the table significantly boosting their chance of landing Zion and team-up with Doncic.

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Can Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson lead the Mavericks to a championship amidst the Jokic hype?

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“Luka is honestly the best fit for zion the best lob passer in the game and the perfect pick n roll ball handler,” a fan commented, after seeing the action unfold. Zion had 33 alley-oops last season with a success rate of 91.7%. it gets even more impressive upon further inspection of the numbers. Zion made 8 alley-oop dunks last season from 9 attempts, showing his prowess in this special scoring category. And Doncic was 2nd overall in the league in assists with 9.8 APG, solidifying his status as one of the most gifted passers of the current generation.

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“Get him in Dallas now”, added another. The Mavs have already bulked up their NBA Finalist roster from last season with the addition of Klay Thompson. With Luka, Kyrie and Thompson on the team, chances are slim of adding an All-Star calibre player like Zion. The Dallas side is just $11 million under the 2nd tax apron and the 24-year-old is only in the second year of his mammoth $197 million contract. Financially, it would take a major toll on the Mavs to bring him in and, given Brandon Ingram’s situation in New Orleans, they’d be extremely unwelcoming of the idea of letting Zion leave. 

“Aye, we know he loves Dallas”, commented a fan, recalling Zion’s fondness of the City. During a post-game interview in 2023, Zion was asked if Luka’s team had the best city on the road. Without hesitation, Zion answered, “Come on now. You know the answer to this. You seen the video? Don’t do that. … Dallas, baby. Dallas. Dallas is the best road city.” Maybe done the line we might just get that if the situation takes a turn in the next few years.

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Hope is what keeps us ticking and for the Mavs fans, this video will play on the back of their minds for some time to come. Will it happen someday? If it does, the Mavs fans will love it with the rest of the league put on a firm notice.