Luka Doncic is making teams crumble and the Timberwolves are his latest casualty
By Noah Weber
Luka Doncic is one of the most unstoppable offensive players the league has ever seen.
Even though Doncic has only played six seasons in the NBA, all signs are pointing to him going down as one of the greatest players of this era. Doncic has already been named to the All-NBA First Team five times, and his dominance was front and center during the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Doncic helped the Dallas Mavericks reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, and he stormed through the playoffs with many great performances. Dallas went through the LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves, and their five-game rout of the Timberwolves was the most remarkable.
Luka Doncic helped lead to the Timberwolves breaking up their core
Dallas completed a gentleman's sweep over the Timberwolves, and virtually no one expected that to happen.
The Mavs were underdogs against Minnesota as they were the No. 2 seed, but Dallas showed that they were superior quickly. Doncic averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 43.4 percent from downtown, and this dominance caused the Timberwolves to implode.
Minnesota couldn't keep up with Dallas, and they made a huge move before the start of next season that could change everything for them. They are no longer the same team they once were, and this team's imploding could be attributed to Doncic's dominance.
Minnesota traded Karl-Anthony Towns in a move for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo after Towns played for the Timberwolves for nine seasons, and Doncic likely directly contributed to this decision. It's hard to believe Minnesota would have broken up their core if they made the Finals, and this trade could work in the Mavs' favor.
Ultimately, this trade was likely made by the Timberwolves for financial reasons, but Doncic and the Mavs were definitely part of the reason. They showed the world that they are going to be contenders for years to come on center stage, and this isn't the first time that Doncic has destroyed a team's core.
Earlier in the playoffs, Dallas took down the Clippers, and they moved on from Paul George later in the summer as he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. George had been with LA since 2019, but that is just the start for Doncic and ending star cores.
The Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves and Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers after Doncic and the Mavs beat them in the 2022 NBA Playoffs and he also helped lead to the Phoenix Suns' big roster shakeup following their seven-game series win.
So many things go into these teams making these blockbuster trades and changing their rosters, but it's undeniable that Doncic is a common denominator. He is a different beast once the playoffs hit, and this year could be the perfect time for him and the Mavs to win the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011.