The wonder boy Luka Dončić and the curse of greatness

This meticulous debut chronicle from ESPN reporter MacMahon charts the Dallas Mavericks' quest to build a championship team around point guard Luka Dončić. Recognized as a basketball prodigy from an early age, Dončić joined Spain's elite Real Madrid basketball team at age 16. The Dallas Mavericks took note, trading up two slots in the 2018 NBA draft to sign Dončić after the team tanked the previous season to ensure a high draft pick. The Mavericks' attempts "to build around him for a couple of decades to come" were hindered by behind-the-scenes tensions, MacMahon suggests, describing how head coach Rick Carlisle's insistence on complete control over play calling alienated Dončić, who enjoyed making daring and unpredictable moves. MacMahon portrays Dončić as a brash virtuoso whose ingenuity on the court is accompanied by penchants for talking trash and arguing with referees. The author sheds light on the complicated alchemy that goes into making a championship team, detailing how the Mavs traded point guard Dennis Smith Jr. to the New York Knicks in 2019 after determining Dončić was better suited to the position, and how power forward Kristaps Porziņģis, brought in later that year to complement Dončić, was also traded after his resentments about playing second fiddle to Dončić hampered the team's performance. NBA fans will want to add this to their shelf. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Mar.)

The rise of a basketball prodigy. Dončić, the high-scoring Dallas Mavericks guard, has been performing under abundant scrutiny for half his life. He was 13 when he left home in Slovenia to play in Spain, and within five years, he was "the most accomplished European teen prospect ever," writes MacMahon. The ESPN reporter capably captures Dončić's precocious self-assurance. As an older player put it, Dončić "doesn't feel pressure" when it's time to take a big shot. Beginning his NBA career in 2018, when he was 19, Dončić delighted in taking 30-foot jumpers in "defiance" of his new coaches--"a source of great comedy" to his teammates. MacMahon focuses on the Mavericks' efforts to acquire players to complement Dončić's talents, lest he sign with another team when he becomes a free agent or demand a trade while still under contract. Such is "the reality of the modern-day NBA" in the "player-empowerment era," MacMahon writes. Frequently awestruck by Dončić's talents, MacMahon notes that he's earned a reputation for failing to stay in shape and constantly whining about referees' calls. As the narrative draws closer to the present, alas, MacMahon's workmanlike accounts of relatively recent games--these rely heavily on stats and trivial accomplishments, like Dončić notching "the fourth ever 50-point performance" on Christmas--offer little that'll be new to fans. And beyond some anecdotes about the birth of Dončić's first child and his love of junk food and video games, readers won't learn much about him away from the hardwood. MacMahon notes that Dončić, in his travels, has learned four languages, but the author is less interested in the intellectual agility that this implies than he is in recycling stale pre- and postgame bromides about the player's desire to win. A competent look at a hoop star loses steam in crunch time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.