10 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks aced the 2024 offseason

3. Luka Doncic didn't play in Olympics coming off of NBA Finals run

One of the more underrated wins from this Mavericks offseason was the fact that Luka Doncic didn’t get a chance to play in the Olympics. This may sound ludicrous at first glance when you take into consideration that Doncic has proudly represented the Mavericks on the international stage by playing for his home country of Slovenia nearly every summer since he’s been in Dallas.

However, coming off an entire NBA season and run to the NBA Finals with the Mavericks, it was clear that Doncic needed some extra time to recoup this summer, especially when one takes into consideration that Doncic had multiple injuries throughout most of Dallas’ long playoff run. 

Doncic played in three Olympic qualifying games for the Slovenian national team until Slovenia was outed in the Semifinals of the qualifying tournament after losing to Greece by a score of 96-68.

Doncic shot decently from the field against Greece, but he looked like a shell of himself on the court during Slovenia’s three games in the qualifying tournament, as he was clearly still hobbled by the same injuries he was dealing with in the Finals. Doncic had many uncharacteristic turnovers in the three contests and didn’t look nearly as explosive as he typically does, so while it was fun for Mavericks fans to see him on the court shortly after the Finals, it was very rough to see how much he was struggling as well.

Had Slovenia made the Olympics, Doncic would’ve undoubtedly given it a go when you take into consideration the price he has in playing for his country. The Olympics only occur once every four years and are a special opportunity for a country like Slovenia, so Doncic throwing his injury recovery to the wayside would’ve been completely understandable in that instance, but there’s an argument to be made that he shouldn’t have been playing in mere qualifying games given the extent of his injuries after such a long season.

Luckily for the Mavericks though, Doncic didn’t re-injure himself in any of the qualifying games and is projected to make a full recovery ahead of the start of training camp.