Naji Marshall didn’t get to spend much time at all as Luka Doncic’s teammate on the Dallas Mavericks.
Marshall agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with the team in the 2024 offseason, when the team was not far removed from an NBA Finals appearance. Doncic was then dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers partway through Marshall’s first season as a Maverick.
Still, it seems as if Marshall developed quite a connection with the Slovenian in their short time as partners in crime. He said recently that the Mavericks’ move to part ways with the offensive maestro and superstar left him “hurt,” even though he understood that it was a business decision.
"I was hurt man. Luka is my dog, for real." — Naji Marshall speaks on the Luka trade 🚨 NEW YM3 WITH NAJI MARSHALL & TREY MURPHY IS LIVE EVERYWHERE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/3l39ZEOBZD
— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) May 17, 2025
In a whirlwind of a season for the Mavericks, Marshall proved to be a rare steadying presence. He played in 69 games (31 starts) with the team in the 2024-25 regular season and averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest. Of players who played in at least 30 games with Dallas, he ranked in the top five on the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game.
Conversely, Doncic found his footing with the Lakers after a slow start to his stint with his new team, but the squad still underperformed in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Los Angeles ended up with 50 regular-season wins and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference but lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the first round. Doncic averaged a team-high 30.2 points per game in that best-of-seven series.
For a good chunk of time after the Mavericks made the controversial move to trade Doncic to the Lakers, it seemed as if the team’s future was murky at best. However, Lady Luck was on Dallas’ side in the recent NBA draft lottery, as it landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and is expected to draft none other than Duke University product Cooper Flagg.
Even if there are plenty of reasons to believe that the Mavericks were wrong to trade Doncic, the team suddenly has reasons to be excited about both the present and future of its franchise.