NBA
Has Luka Doncic ever missed the NBA playoffs?
Luka Doncic averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in his Rookie of the Year award season but did not experience playoff basketball.
On June 21, 2018, Luka Dončić, the tremendous Slovenian prospect from Real Madrid, was selected as the third overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA draft. He was then famously traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a swap for the draft rights to Trae Young and a protected future first-round pick in 2019.
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Luka Dončić was selected unanimously to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season and won Rookie of the Year for the 2018–19 season. In his next three seasons, he was elected to the NBA All-Star game and named to the All-NBA First Team. He is the Mavericks’ franchise leader in career triple-doubles.
2018-2019 Season
Dirk Nowitzki announced his retirement at the season’s end; his 21st season with the Mavericks marked the longest any NBA player spent with a single franchise. Not only would he break a record previously set by Kobe Bryant for the most seasons spent playing for a single NBA team, but he also became the fifth player in NBA history to play in the league for 21 seasons. This also allowed for the new era - the Luka Dončić era - to be inaugurated.
The Mavericks finished the season with a 33–49 record and missed the playoffs despite Dončić winning Rookie of the Year. With an overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on March 18, the Mavericks would again have a losing season and not make the playoffs for the third consecutive year. They’ve finished 5th in their division (Southwest) and 14th in the Western Conference.
It was the 39th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Following years
In the following seasons, Luka Dončić embraced the role of the franchise player, setting some incredible stat records and showing his unconventional maturity when playing against more experienced defensive players. His phenomenal display also made the Mavs a western conference playoff stronghold.
In the 2020 and 2021 season playoffs, Luka Dončić and his Mavs stumbled upon the Clippers in the opening round, losing 2-4 and 3-4 in those series. Finally, in the 2021-2022 season came the playoff breakthrough when the Mavs returned from a 3-0 losing streak against the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semi-Finals and won that series 4-3. Later to be stopped by the future NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, with a 4-1 record in the Conference final.
2022-2023
In the 2022-2023 season, Luka once again had an All-Star invitation season averaging 32.7 points per game—second in the league—with 8.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists. But Dallas’s season has still disappointed, especially considering this team made it to the Western Conference Finals last season. Having the team sitting out all of their best players, including Luka, in their last game against the Spurs, it implicates that this will be only second time in Luka’s NBA career that he will not have playoff minutes in his records.