Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic and Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki have been great friends since their time together on the Dallas Mavericks, but it appears the latter hasn’t been keeping in touch with the former. Before Friday’s clash against the Portland Trail Blazers, Doncic was informed that Nowitzki gave him the “Hot playa” nod, and the Slovenian hilariously called him out in response.
“Thank you, Dirk,” Doncic said. “But he don’t even call. He’s in L.A.; he don’t even call no more. So I expect that dinner soon. I expect that call.”
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Living in Los Angeles and still not keeping in touch isn’t nice, Dirk. The clip was played during Amazon Prime’s halftime show, and Nowitzki was a little bit hurt by the callout.
“Aw, that’s cold,” Nowitzki said. “That’s cold, that hurts.”
Fellow Amazon Prime NBA studio analyst Blake Griffin asked Nowitzki whether he really doesn’t call Doncic anymore, and the German had a hilarious response.
“I’m big time now, what can I say?” Nowitzki said.
It feels like there’s no one more “big time” than Doncic in the NBA now. Nowitzki saw the six-time All-Star erupt for 53 points (17-33 FG), five rebounds, five assists, and one steal to power the Lakers to a 124-118 win over the Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena.
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Doncic has now scored at least 35 points in seven straight games and is averaging a ridiculous 40.1 points per game in 2026-27 while shooting 41.9% from three. The 27-year-old looks unstoppable and is the MVP frontrunner in this early stage of the season.
Nowitzki has loved what he has seen from Doncic and sang his praises postgame.
“Like back in last year when he shoots like 30s from the three, you kind of containing him and then you contest,” Nowitzki said. “And you kind of say okay, you live with that shot. But now you can’t live with that shot because he’s making those shots. So now that makes you push up a little bit more, maybe half a step, and then he’s got you. Then he’s got you leaning one way; he’s crossing over.
“Once he’s got you on his shoulder, he’s so strong, he drives you back, he gets to the lane, he’s got all the push shots, all the floaters, gets to the basket, gets the little [Walker] Kessler on the rim or his shooters,” Nowitzki continued. “So he’s just got his full package going now. The step-back three is working; that means that opens up everything for him.
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“He’s got, you can see, he’s got the confidence, got the swag there, he’s just going to make every shot he takes,” Nowitzki added. “So it’s a historic run, and we can’t even find any more words for it.”
Now, Nowitzki was unaware that Doncic was listening to him. The 48-year-old hilariously said he takes it all back upon finding out. The topic of Nowitzki not calling was then brought up again, with Griffin asking Doncic whether he had changed his number.
“I still have the same number,” Doncic said. “Maybe Dirk forgot my number.”
That’s some nice friendly banter. Doncic and Nowitzki were teammates on the Mavericks during the 2018-19 season. It was the former’s rookie year and the latter’s last year in the NBA.
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Nowitzki didn’t think Doncic would turn out to be this good, but no one did. He might be the best player in the NBA now, and we’ll see him in action next when the 8-2 Lakers take on the 6-2 Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
