There is no shortage of dynamic duos in the NBA. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown come to mind. So do LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Down in Dallas, the Mavericks have one of the most unlikely pairs in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but with a Finals appearance already under their belt, Luka and Kyrie have proven that they’re a killer pairing on the court.
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Most questions NBA players are asked focus on the same old things—a play or sequence from a game, an upcoming matchup, the direction the team is heading—last night though, Kyrie was interviewed by a reporter from Luka’s homeland in Slovenia, and it actually gave some fantastic insight into why the two Mavericks stars are so close.
Kyrie Irving when asked about Luka Doncic:
“Does he ever annoy me? Yeah people get annoying. He’s not the only person that annoys me, I annoy him too. We just spend a lot of time off the court just enjoying each other’s presence. Our families getting to know each other. We annoy… pic.twitter.com/69FbkdhFJV
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) January 15, 2025
Kyrie was asked if Luka ever annoys him, which, under most circumstances, would be an invitation to create more drama in an already drama-filled league. It was obvious, though, that this reporter asked the question from a place of love and appreciation for the brotherhood that Luka and Kyrie so obviously share. Kyrie laughed as he talked about how he and Luka especially annoy each other when the wine gets going.
“We annoy each other when the wine gets going, start telling jokes, and he starts bringing up how he beat me when I was in Brooklyn, and just all the extra memories and stuff like that. Annoying is part of friendship and part of brotherhood, so I’m not mad at it.”
There’s no doubt that Kyrie has come a long way from his days in Cleveland, Boston, and Brooklyn when he was increasingly viewed as a headcase whose personality overshadowed his talent. It’s obvious he likes being on the Mavs and that Luka is clearly a big reason why. The two ultra-talented players have developed a bond off the court that has allowed them to be their best basketball selves on the court.
The Mavs will go wherever Luka and Kyrie take them
When asked to put a value on Luka, Kyrie said, “Whatever the super supermax is.” Even that might be putting it lightly, as Dallas has really struggled since Luka went down with a calf strain on Christmas, going 3-8 without him to fall back to sixth in the Western Conference. Last night, they fell to the Nuggets at home for the second game in a row, proving how badly they need the other half of their dynamic duo back.
After Luka was hurt, the Mavericks said they would re-evaluate his injury in a month, meaning the earliest he could possibly return is the end of January. More likely, it won’t happen until February, at which point he and Kyrie will try to lift Dallas back up the standings. The most critical thing is getting both healthy and back together again, as it was only last year that they made the Finals as a 5-seed.
