Kyrie Irving's hidden habit reveals the 1 trait Mavericks always wanted from Doncic

Just over three weeks ago, one of the greatest duos in Dallas Mavericks history was broken up for good.

Late into the night on February 1, the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick. This trade came out of nowhere, as Mavs fans expected to be watching Doncic play for their favorite team for years to come, and fans will likely never get to see him and his duo partner, Kyrie Irving, share the floor as Mavericks again.

Irving and Doncic became incredibly close over the two years they played together, and they helped lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Their bond stretched beyond the hardwood, as they spent time together off the floor and their families became close, and during a time in which the Mavericks have not given Doncic the proper respect, Irving has.

He called for the Mavs to slow down on the public shaming of Doncic, which includes Patrick Dumont and Nico Harrison alluding to him not having a strong work ethic and not being a culture setter. Reporting later indicated that there were serious doubts about Doncic's leadership, and almost everything that has come out about Doncic from the Mavs has been negative. These comments from the front office will only fuel Doncic moving forward, as he never forgets things like this, and Irving being a voice of reason during this time shows his leadership and how much he truly loves Doncic as a brother.

Irving embodies the leadership and work ethic Mavs wanted from Doncic

Regardless of whether those things about Doncic are remotely true or not, Dallas has a relentless worker and strong leader in Irving, and it couldn't be more obvious.

Irving has been in headlines over the last few days after revealing that Max Christie beat him to the arena before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans, and he was jokingly upset about it. This development has given fans an outstanding look into the type of intense preparation Irving goes through on game days that media members who have observed his intricate and extremely early pregame workouts already know, and he sets an outstanding example to the younger players about what being locked in and dedicated to your craft looks like.

Irving's focus on arriving at games early was something that the media knew, but it hadn't been talked about much until this story with Christie. Casual fans are now learning just how intentional Irving is to the game of basketball, and his routine reflects that.

Jason Kidd said that Irving is usually at the arena by 2:00 or 2:30 PM for home game days (7:30 PM is the standard time for home tipoff), and he thought it was cool that Christie beat him last week. Kidd joked that Irving would spend the night at the arena before the next game to make sure that he was the first one to work, and having your superstar player be that dialed in and focused before every game is something that every franchise wants.

This isn't to say that Doncic wasn't a great leader or hard worker, as he took major strides as a leader learning from Irving ever since he was traded to the Mavs, but Irving seems to be the type of player that Harrison wished Doncic was. The organization seemed to have issues with Doncic's off-court habits, work ethic, and leadership, and Irving has all of these things down to a tee.

Mavericks fans will always question the motives behind Harrison wanting to move Doncic, as all of the reported previously listed reasons are nowhere close to enough of a reason to trade a 25-year-old superstar, but it is obvious that none of these things will ever be a problem with Irving. Harrison is trying to build a certain type of culture for this team and organization, and Irving's identity as a leader or culture setter will never be a doubt.

Irving's teammates always talk highly about his leadership on and off the floor, and he shows the team what it looks like to be a hard worker and train like a champion daily. How much Harrison and the Mavericks truly value Irving will be put to the test this summer, as he has a player option and can opt out and become a free agent.

While early reporting indicates that Irving remains interested in staying with the Mavericks and he has shown no signs of wanting to leave, this doesn't mean that he won't get a massive contract. Irving is believed to have more leverage than any other free agent this summer, and the Mavericks will likely throw a massive deal at him to make him the leader of the team for years to come.