Michael Finley, the Assistant General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks, recently revealed an interesting story from one of the team’s practice sessions. During his appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Finley narrated how Luka Doncic once humiliated Grant Williams in a scrimmage after the latter continuously chirped at him.
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Grant Williams, who the Mavericks signed in the 2023 summer, made the wrong decision of taunting Luka in practice. As a result, the frustrated point guard went off on a scoring rampage, completely embarrassing Williams.
“He (Grant Williams) decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin. He thought that Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice… They had a scrimmage going and he’s talking trash to Luka up and down the court. Finally, Luka says, ‘Okay’. I tell you, Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself.”
The fact that Doncic went on this 26-6 run while not saying a single word back to the forward makes the tale even more mind-blowing. The assistant GM of the Mavs also revealed how Doncic displayed all of the moves from his arsenal as he relentlessly torched Williams.
“Luka didn’t say a word. Everybody on the sideline, including the coaches was like, ‘Do not poke the bear’. We had guests in the gym at the time and they were on the sidelines oohing and aahing. Unbelievable. The kid couldn’t miss. I’m not talking easy shots, he showed his entire repertoire in this five to six-minute run,” Finley concluded.
Doncic is one of the more calm players in the league. A pretty loving and jolly character off the court, but on the court the Slovenian doesn’t shy away from competition. Since joining the NBA, the 6ft 7” superstar has had multiple verbal altercations with some of the best players. A majority of the time, Luka has ended up backing all his trash talk.
Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers, who have had a rivalry with Luka Doncic and co. early on in his career, spoke about how the guard was a “cold killer” and wouldn’t step away from a fight, as per Foxnews.
Grant Williams was traded by the Dallas Mavericks
By trash-talking Luka Doncic, in all probabilities, Grant Williams must’ve wanted to announce his presence to the team. Unfortunately for the forward, things didn’t work in his favor. Instead, this particular instance, with Doncic not indulging in the verbal altercation, seems like one of the many reasons behind Grant being traded mid-season.
Along with the fact that the 25-year-old got several team personnel livid after switching to Jayson Tatum’s signature shoes over Doncic’s, Grant Williams was also a “poor locker-room personality fit”.
Trading away Grant Williams turned out to be a great decision made by the management. Apart from fixing the locker room atmosphere, the team also acquired PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
Since the addition of the two players on the trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks have had an impressive 8-5 record, as per ESPN.
