By Ashish Mathur,Dallas Hoops Journal

Copyright yardbarker

Luka Dončić played with NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki during his rookie year with the Dallas Mavericks in 2018-19.

While Dončić was teammates with Nowitzki for only one season, the two developed a strong relationship and Dončić learned a lot from Nowitzki, one of the greatest players in NBA history.

“Professionalism, you know, how professional he was with everything,” Luka Dončić told the Wall Street Journal about what Dirk Nowitzki taught him. “Even in his 21st season, you know, he had the whole routine every day, you know, start this at that time, he would start at that time.

“So just the routine was unbelievable to see.”

Nowitzki is the greatest player in Mavericks franchise history. He won the 2006-07 MVP Award and led Dallas to its only NBA championship in 2011 against the Miami Heat.

In 1,522 games with the Mavericks, Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks. He made 14 All-Star teams and 12 All-NBA teams.

Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. Dončić, who was traded by the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, will make the Hall of Fame one day.

The sports world was stunned when Dallas traded Dončić to Los Angeles in February. Dončić wanted to spend his entire NBA career with the Mavericks, but general manager Nico Harrison no longer wanted the franchise to orbit around the superstar point-forward.

The Mavericks didn’t consult Nowitzki before trading Dončić to the Lakers. Nowitzki doesn’t have a big role with Dallas right now, but he told Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News that he’s “always a phone call away” if the franchise wants to speak with him.

Dallas missed the 2025 playoffs after making the NBA Finals in 2024. The organization got lucky, though, by winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.

Harrison drafted Duke star Cooper Flagg with the first pick, giving the Mavericks three (Flagg, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis) number one draft picks.