“Outscored Minnesota’s Entire Team”: Magic Johnson Left Elated as Luka Doncic’s First Quarter Heroics Earn Him Honor Named After NBA Legend

With Luka Doncic winning the Magic Johnson WCF MVP Award, the namesake himself wasn’t going to sit back and watch. Magic Johnson probably had the congratulatory post ready at Game 5’s halftime when the Dallas Mavericks had a 19-point lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The majority of it was owed to Doncic’s jaw-dropping 20-point first quarter. Magic was super fast hopping on to X to congratulate the star of Game 5 and this series.

“Congratulations to Luka Doncic on winning the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP! Luka dominated this series, topping it off with a 36 point, 10 rebound performance – where he outscored Minnesota’s entire team in the first quarter,” Magic wrote. After that dominant start, Doncic ended the game with 36 points, 5 assists, and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes.

His team rallied to maintain the lead he secured with Kyrie Irving matching his 36 points and adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds. PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford scored 12 points and 11 points respectively. It is certainly a bigger deal for the team that hasn’t been in the Finals since 2011. Luka was great, but the additions of Irving, Washington, and Gafford renewed championship hope.

Magic acknowledged that and commended the Mavs front office for whom this is a decade-long milestone in the making. “Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks new majority team owners Dr. Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont, my friends GM Nico Harrison and Head Coach Jason Kidd, stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and the entire Mavericks team for advancing to the NBA Finals!”

Marc Cuban completed the sale of the Mavs in December 2023 to Las Vegas casino magnate, Miriam Adelson. Her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont is the team’s governor. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who’s been in ownership groups across five leagues, knows that feeling. And he knows it doesn’t end here.

Luka Doncic beats the odds

The Dallas Mavericks entered the postseason with the odds stacked against them. The team had only two Finals appearances under Mark Cuban’s ownership, led by Dirk Nowitzki. Since they acquired the European import, Luka Doncic in 2018, the team has been building around him. By the 2024 trade deadline, they hit the roster jackpot.

Doncic has established himself as the new face of the league provided he wins a title. He’s found a strong backcourt partner in veteran Kyrie, whose post-2016 championship slump seemed to have ended since arriving in Dallas. After Doncic finished third in the MVP race, he won all nine votes to win the Western Conference MVP title after averaging 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 8.4 assists against the Wolves. It’s named after the Lakers legend who made nine Finals appearances and won five of those.

Interestingly, the East’s MVP award is named after his biggest rival Larry Bird. Jaylen Brown won the 2024 award named after the Celtics legend. Like these two biggest rivals to go head-to-head in the Finals, Brown and Doncic will clash for their first championships.  Winning the Magic Johnson Award and these words from the trophy man himself are a decent consolation prize for Doncic missing the NBA MVP award. The Larry O’Brien trophy would be sweeter.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.