While many assumed Kristaps Porzingis didn’t work in Dallas because he didn’t get along with Luka Doncic, both he and Doncic have insisted that’s not the case.
Now, as these two European talents face off in the NBA Finals, Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has spoken about what he felt was the real problem was for Porzingis and Doncic.
“For the most part, they didn’t even have that much time to even play together,” Hardaway told GQ Sports.
“I think the injuries really affected what could’ve been, but off the court and on the court, K.P. and Luka, they always talked. It was always laughing and stuff, but at the end of the day, they’re also competitors as well.”
Porzingis was traded from New York to Dallas in January 2019, but did not make his Mavericks debut until October 2019, as he was still recovering from his ACL injury at the time of the trade.
But injury struck again in the playoffs, when Porzingis suffered a lateral meniscus tear half-way through Dallas’ first-round series against the Clippers, which the Mavericks went on to lose in six games.
Porzingis played 143 games for Dallas across three seasons and was traded to Washington in February 2022 in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
But he has since found a home in Boston and was excellent in Game 1 of The Finals despite not being entirely healthy. Porzingis appeared to be playing through pain in Game 2 on Sunday but said he would definitely play in Game 3.
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