Seventy-three points. That was Luka Dončić’s total when he led the Dallas Mavericks to a victory over the Atlanta Hawks last season. He wasn’t the only NBA player to have an explosion on offense that season – think Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns. And the league subsequently decided to change officiating to favor more physical play that would presumably cut down on high offensive output.
That’s how Tim MacMahon sees it. The veteran ESPN writer has covered Dončić since the Slovenian’s arrival in Dallas as one of the most heralded European talents in NBA history. He saw Dončić live up to his billing, leading the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA finals last year. And he knew that even a change in rules wouldn’t stop Dončić’s stepback three.
