Luka Doncic has been one of the most dominant players since coming into the league, and he does it on a weekly basis. That warrants an award, as Luka Doncic was just named Westen Conference Player of the Week for games played from December 2, 2024, to December 8, 2024.
Over the course of the week, Doncic averaged 29.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. He also recorded back-to-back triple-doubles to take sole possession of seventh place for most triple-doubles all-time with 79, as he surpassed Wilt Chamberlin and James Harden.
With this being his 14 Player of the Week award, Doncic has the most by any Western Conference player since the 2019-20 mark and is tied for 8th in active players.
Not only is Doncic playing well, but the Mavericks as a whole are playing some of their best basketball of the season, as they're currently on a seven-game winning streak and are 11-1 in their past 12 games. Doncic missed some of those games, but Kyrie Irving picked up the slack and dominated while the Mavericks' star player was out.
Luka Doncic reveals what's been working for Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) during the first quarter at Scotiabank Arena.
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
The Mavericks started the season slowly, but they've been on a roll the past few weeks. Luka Doncic revealed what has been working for the Mavericks during their seven-game winning streak.
“Just great defense, great pace, sharing the rock, and chemistry is the top,” Doncic said. “Just playing hard, playing fun, and that’s what we got to do.”
The team's defense is the only thing that's been working for the Mavericks, but Doncic's individual defense has improved, according to Doncic himself.
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“Somebody is gonna ask about my defense? Woah,” Doncic said. “I’m trying. This season has been one of the best defensive seasons. I know people don’t see it. But I’m trying, and I’ll just get better.”
There's a lot this team can accomplish if Doncic is better defensively, and that's probably one of the reasons they're playing so well right now. The Mavericks will try to extend their winning streak to eight as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. The Mavericks know the Thunder well after facing them in the playoffs last season, but both teams have some new pieces and surely have improved since last year.
For the Mavericks, they'll just need to continue to play how they're playing, and they'll stay near the top of the Western Conference standings. They're currently 16-8 and 4th in the conference, but they can get even higher as the season progresses.