The Dallas Mavericks certainly got the attention of the NBA world with their dominant 123-90 Game 7 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
The game was not close from the very beginning, with Mavericks star guard Luka Dončić scoring the same amount of points as the Suns’ entire team did in the first half.
It was a breakout series for Dončić. Everyone knew that he was among the top players in the NBA, but that has not translated to success in the NBA playoffs in his career until this year.
Taking out the reigning Western Conference Champions to reach the Western Conference Finals will certainly go a long way to solidifying the Mavericks as a true title contender. And Dončić’s impressive play has certainly gotten the attention of many around the NBA world.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James gave Dončić some of the highest praise anyone can receive on Monday when a fan asked him on social media who his favorite player under the age of 25 is.
James responded with a short but concise response, saying that Dončić is his favorite player in the NBA right now.
This is interesting for a number of reasons. Reports emerged back in April from NBA insider Brian Windhorst that James may want to play with Dončić at some point in the future, and this social media post from James is only fueling more fire to those rumors.
Smart man https://t.co/X6wkv0FZ8e
— Bryan 🇰🇪 (@SkyHydrate) May 17, 2022
You see the vision. https://t.co/NwXOb97wx1 pic.twitter.com/yfEkUcqjs6
— 𝓣𝓪𝓲𝓣𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓷🌊🌬 (@TheA1God) May 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/JasmynWimbish/status/1526385325680955392
make it happen @Lakers https://t.co/65df1AKTjP pic.twitter.com/mDtLEKWx34
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 17, 2022
It’s unclear exactly how this would happen in the near future, but a pairing between Dončić and LeBron would certainly be one of the most must-watch teams in NBA history on paper.
The Mavericks would be out of their mind to trade Dončić to the Lakers, but maybe there is some truth to the rumors of the Lakers being interested in trading LeBron. And the Mavericks could swoop in and make a huge move in the future for James. (What’s unclear is if social media praise like this from James for a player with another team might lead to a tampering charge, as it has for broadcast comments from Pat Riley and Draymond Green and social media comments from Daryl Morey.)
Regardless, the Mavericks will look to take out the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals when Game 1 of the series takes place on Wednesday.
