What Does Luka Doncic Have To Do To Overtake Dirk Nowitzki As the Greatest Dallas Maverick?

[Lord Cuban]

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[dirkules_41]

Stay 10+ years and win 3+ cups. Dirks impact in Dallas really is hard to outdo.

[Darren]

1. Luka has to outwork everyone on roster, especially on fixing weaknesses. It's tough. Powell, KP, Brunson and so on work pretty hard so far.
2. Luka has to be consistent scoring punch and last shot takers.
3. Luka has to lead the teams under pressure and adversities.

[Darren]

I still remember how the Mavs come back from Sacremento with Divac, C-Webb, Peja and Bibby. It's Van Exel who leads the come back. While everyone is discouraged, Nick steps up and do two things:
1. Remind teammates to stay hungry.
2. Give teammates optimism and (acting like really hungry and) sparking the comeback.

I still remember NVE averages 20-30 PPG this series.

[MrGoat]

At least 3 chips, and stay here long enough to pass MJ on the all time scoring list

[bobsquad]

Thought this was a dumb question when it was posted. "Dirk Forever." Luka isn't going to score more than 31,560 points or play more than 21 seasons in a Mavs uniform, and even if he did that exactly, Mavs fans would likely give the edge to Dirk for his personality and what he's meant to the franchise intangibly.

But at the same time, the bar for "greatest Laker" was set unattainably high before Kobe ever suited up in the purple and gold, yet he likely cleared it. If (and only if) Luka manages to check off 7 of the 10 criteria below while in Dallas, he will overtake Dirk.

FINALS APPEARANCES
In Mavs fans' minds, Dallas would have won the title in '03 if Dirk had not gotten hurt in the WCF and in '06 if the officiating hadn't tilted things in MIami's favor. If the NBA alternate universes were played out with identical teams infinity times, I'd say 25% of those universes would have Dirk winning 3 titles. This is an area where more would be expected of Luka. Luka wins the West at least 4 times, and brings the Larry O'Brien trophy home at least twice.

MVPS
Dirk won MVP in '07 but perhaps should have in '06 as well. Luka wins 2 MVP awards.

ALL-NBA SELECTION
Dirk was named All-NBA 12x, and first team 4x. Luka makes first team All-NBA 5x.

SCORING TITLES
Dirk finished in the league top 4 PPG twice in his career, in '05 and '09. Luka finishes in the top 3 at least twice, OR wins at least one scoring title.

LONGEVITY
Dirk received MVP vote share at age 33, in his 13th season, and at age 35, in his 16th season. Luka matches Dirk, receiving MVP vote share in a Mavs uniform at least once after his 12th season.

REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS
Dirk's teams won 60 games 3 times, peaking at 67 games in '07. Luka's teams win 60 games 4 times, OR match at 3 times but beat the franchise-best 67.

TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Luka has a chance to blaze his own trail with his unique skillset and propensity for triple-doubles. Luka finishes in the top 2 all time for triple-doubles.

ALL-TIME ASSISTS
On a similar note, if Luka can establish himself as an all-time great floor general, he would get some consideration. Luka finishes in the top 11 (LeBron is #10) on the all-time assists board.

CULTURAL CATALYST
During Dirk's tenure, he didn't have the cultural impact that other players like Kobe, Iverson, and Shaq did. Luka establishes himself as an undisputed international cultural icon for the game of basketball.

ACTUALLY BEATING DIRK
Lastly, Luka scores at least 31,560 points in at least 21 seasons for the Mavericks.

[PDXKnight]

Man I think Luka has a great career ahead of him but topping Dirk is a hard ask especially since that would require a player to remain loyal and healthy for a long career like dirk. I think if he stays a Mav for 15-20 years and remains healthy he has a good shot to be at a similar level