The Wonder Boy: Luka Dončić and the Curse of Greatness

This meticulous debut chronicle from ESPN reporter MacMahon charts the Dallas Mavericks’ quest to build a championship team around point guard Luka Dončić. Recognized as a basketball prodigy from an early age, Dončić joined Spain’s elite Real Madrid basketball team at age 16. The Dallas Mavericks took note, trading up two slots in the 2018 NBA draft to sign Dončić after the team tanked the previous season to ensure a high draft pick. The Mavericks’ attempts “to build around him for a couple of decades to come” were hindered by behind-the-scenes tensions, MacMahon suggests, describing how head coach Rick Carlisle’s insistence on complete control over play calling alienated Dončić, who enjoyed making daring and unpredictable moves. MacMahon portrays Dončić as a brash virtuoso whose ingenuity on the court is accompanied by penchants for talking trash and arguing with referees. The author sheds light on the complicated alchemy that goes into making a championship team, detailing how the Mavs traded point guard Dennis Smith Jr. to the New York Knicks in 2019 after determining Dončić was better suited to the position, and how power forward Kristaps Porziņģis, brought in later that year to complement Dončić, was also traded after his resentments about playing second fiddle to Dončić hampered the team’s performance. NBA fans will want to add this to their shelf. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Mar.)