Dallas Mavericks fans have some pretty cool options for the new edition of NBA 2K. Luka Doncic stars on the normal cover NBA 2K22, while Dirk Nowitzki is one of the three NBA greats, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Durant, to appear on the deluxe, NBA 75th Anniversary edition of the upcoming game.
The two are the first two Mavericks to appear on the game series’ cover in its history. Dirk is pretty clearly the greatest Maverick in franchise history. Luka is climbing that list rapidly, and some might even argue he’s already No. 2.
Nowitzki might be on that list. The German superstar, who led the Mavs to a dramatic NBA Finals win in 2011, had some crazy high praise for his successor. He thinks Luka may have already surpassed him at his best.
Dirk won a title and, four years earlier, took home the 2007 NBA MVP Award, averaging 24.6/8.9/3.4, with his only career 50/40/90 season, something unheard of for a seven-footer. Luka hasn’t quite achieved those things yet, but at just 22, he may be on his way.
High praise from one @NBA2K cover star to another 🙏 pic.twitter.com/l4VGElzXYE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 15, 2021
After winning Rookie of the Year in 2019, Luka Doncic has been in the heart of MVP talks during the last two seasons. In 2020, he averaged 28.8/9.4/8.8. Those numbers went down a bit in 2020-21, but he shot career best 47.9-percent from the field and 35-percent from three.
He took things up a notching in the playoffs as well, averaged a crazy 35.7 points, 10.3 assists, and 7.9 rebounds in seven games this year.
Dirk says Luka is already one of his favorite players to watch in the modern NBA. From Sports Illustrated:
“Luka is definitely up there,” said Nowitzki. “He’s so special to watch because he’s so fun. I think sometimes he doesn’t even know what he’s going to do next. I mean, I watched a playoff game this year where he dribbles up and he shoots a one-legged 3 pointer, which is unbelievable, and he makes it.
“This kid just has a special gift to make exciting plays. I still of course love watching Kevin Durant when he’s healthy. A freak seven-foot guy who can dribble, can shoot from anywhere, can score from anywhere. So there’s a lot of great players that I still love watching.”
Luka will probably need some more team accomplishments before he’s held in the same regard as Dirk Nowitzki overall, but he’s well on his way to becoming an all-time great.
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