Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic ties Dirk Nowitzki for historic mark

The Dallas Mavericks had a disappointing season. Superstar Luka Doncic put up the best numbers of his career, but a late-season collapse saw Dallas miss the postseason entirely. The Mavs lost 12 of their final 16 games to slip to the tenth-worst record in the league just one year after reaching the conference finals.

Doncic was still otherworldly. He made his fourth All-Star appearance, had a 60-point triple-double, and finished second in the NBA in scoring. Number 77 averaged 32.4 points per game, which set a new career high. He was incredible, despite the team’s struggles.

The NBA announced the 2023 All-NBA teams on May 10, and Luka Doncic again found himself on the first-team. It was the fourth straight year for number 77 on the top team, and that tied him with the Mavericks' GOAT Dirk Nowitzki.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic ties Dirk Nowitzki with historic 4th straight 1st-team All-NBA honor

Nowitzki is unquestionably the Mavs' GOAT. He was a 14-time All-Star and made 12 All-NBA teams, but Dirk was on the first team just four times. Doncic tied that historic mark, and he became the first Maverick to make the first-team four straight years. Nowitzki was first-team from 2005 to 2007 but slipped to second-team in 2008 before jumping back to first-team in 2009.

Only three other players have earned four or more first-team All-NBA honors in their first five seasons in the league.

The voting was not particularly close. Doncic earned 60 first-team votes and appeared on 97 of 100 ballots. His 403 points were 54 more than Donovan Mitchell, who finished higher than Stephen Curry for second-team guard. Luka again proved he is one of the best players in the world, and the voters again agreed.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joined Doncic on the first-team, which was his first honor. SGA had a breakout season, and he could be a fixture on the list for many years to come. Jaylen Brown earned a much larger extension by making the All-NBA team. Donovan Mitchell, Domantas Sabonis, and De'Aaron Fox all made their first All-NBA appearances in 2023. LeBron James earned his incredible 19th All-NBA honor. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum joined Luka and SGA on the first-team.

Luka Doncic continued his historic start to his career. The 24-year-old is on pace to go down as an all-time great, but there is plenty of work to do. What will number 77 do next? Stay tuned to find out.