Ever felt like passing the ball to someone else but ended up playing solo because you’re just too good? Well, Luka Doncic might just resonate with that feeling on an NBA scale. Luka Doncic’s unmatched offensive genius has turned him into a superstar, but his ball-dominant style is starting to get on his Dallas Mavericks teammates. One of the anonymous assistant coaches stated that Doncic’s teammates have a feeling of “relief” when he leaves the game, which gives them more freedom in the offense. If not addressed, this growing frustration may spoil the Mavs’ championship dreams.

The anger comes from Doncic’s league-leading 35.5% usage rate this season, which turns the Mavs’ offense into an extension of his personal abilities rather than a unified attack of the team. “It’s difficult to have any rhythm if you’re not touching the ball,” the assistant coach confessed.

Luka Doncic’s greatness comes at a cost

While Doncic’s historic 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game are certainly impressive, they are at the expense of his teammates’ participation. “It’s a little exhausting watching the same shit over and over again,” former NBA player Chandler Parsons remarked about playing with ball-dominant stars.

As per The Ringer, an anonymous veteran assistant coach shared a telling observation — which Mavs’ Markieff Morris denies — noting a palpable “sigh of relief” among players when Doncic is off the court. “It’s a sense of, ‘Hey, now we get to play,’” the coach explained. This suggests a need for more inclusive play styles to enhance team performance.

“When you don’t win, it’s even magnified. Like, ‘OK, can we try something else? Can I maybe get the ball?” Parsons added, pointing out that Doncic’s dominance becomes difficult to tolerate during losing stretches. One anonymous executive even asked if Doncic sometimes plays for the stats rather than fully competing.

Although Doncic’s offensive brilliance is indisputable, his inability to make his teammates better is worrisome for a team with championship aspirations. The Mavs’ marginal success with Doncic on the floor versus the bench during his first five seasons helped to validate these questions. Nevertheless, Doncic’s better defense and faith in his co-star Kyrie Irving this season has the Mavs playing their best team ball ever, with a strong +14.4 net rating when he plays since December. Will Doncic be able to find the right balance in the future?

Finding The Right Supporting Cast

One of the ways to maximize the talents of Doncic is probably to place him in a situation where he is surrounded by a combination of two-way players who can play off him and defend at an elite level. This season, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr.’s arrivals provided Dallas with those complementary pieces.

However, the Mavs need to make sure that the rest of the roster also can adjust to Doncic’s ball-dominant style. Mixing elite slashers and shooters with him as he orchestrates could take them to another level offensively.

The most important factor may be the constant team-wide effort on defense. With the Mavs’ elite defense, Doncic’s ball dominance is not really a problem because his teammates stay engaged. The path of Dallas to a title probably goes through Doncic finding that perfect balance between dominance and facilitation. However, his amazing skills make breaking that code an interesting task.