Luka Doncic talks about the Mavericks' failed title run: "We did some great moves; I would say we've been together for five months"

The Dallas Mavericks' magical run in the 2024 NBA Playoffs came to an end on Sunday night, as the Boston Celtics won Game 5 106-88 and clinched the 18th championship in Celtics history.

While the C's celebrated on the court and inside their locker room, the Mavs faced reporters in the post-game interviews. Although it was a tough night for them, Dallas superstar Luka Doncic paid tribute to the entire Mavericks organization.

"We did some great moves," said Doncic. "We've been together for five months. I'm proud of every guy that stepped on the floor, all the coaches, all the people behind. Obviously, we didn't win the Finals, but we did have a hell of a season. I'm proud of every one of them."

Mavs' masterful midseason moves

The Mavericks were a decent 32-23 team at the All-Star break. However, the trades that brought in P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford before the trade deadline were the game-changers for the Mavs. Even Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki said that those deals changed the trajectory of the team .

"I think that deal put us over the top," said Dirk on The Big Podcast. "I think we had a good team before but getting P.J. and Gafford at the trade deadline was an unbelievable move by the management. Gave us some depth, gave us length, and P.J. has been incredible."

Dallas finished the season strong, winning 16 out of their last 20 games and earning the No.5 seed in the Western Conference. Despite not having a homecourt advantage in any playoff series played, the Mavericks made it to the championship round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were overmatched by a more experienced and deeper Celtics team in the 2024 NBA Finals.

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One hell of a season

Although the Celtics ran away with the championship series 4-1, the Mavericks have nothing to be ashamed of. They won 50 games after missing the playoffs last season. This year was also Luka and Kyrie's first full season together, and they established themselves as one of the best duos in the league.

Despite the criticisms, Luka Magic had a spectacular postseason. He was the first player in NBA history to lead the playoffs in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. His 635 points this postseason is the 15th most in a playoff run and better than Dirk's previous Mavs mark of 621. Speaking of Dirk, he did not win a ring in his first rodeo.

Looking at Jason Kidd's rotation, only Kyrie is above 30 years old at 32. Derrick Jones Jr. is only 27, while Gafford, Washington, and Doncic are just 25. Josh Green is just 23, Jaden Hardy is 21, and Dereck Lively II is only 20. Jones and Markieff Morris are the only free agents this summer, so there's no question the Mavs will be back.

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