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Mavericks rookie who watched Devin Booker growing up gets real on facing him
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- Mavericks rookie who watched Devin Booker growing up gets real on facing him
Mavericks rookie who watched Devin Booker growing up gets real on facing him appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
On Wednesday evening, the Dallas Mavericks officially fell 30 games under the .500 mark on the 2025-26 NBA season with a narrow road loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. This was a tough all-around game for the Mavericks, including for rookie standout Cooper Flagg , who scored 11 points on just 4-18 shooting from the field in this one.
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Meanwhile, Suns star Devin Booker torched Dallas all evening, scoring 37 points in the win, and after the game, Mavericks rookie John Poulakidas got 100% honest on what it was like facing off against a player he grew up watching, and the fact that Booker acknowledged him after the game.
"He's a guy that I've been watching since I was in 7th, 8th grade… Him showing love to me was a super special moment," he said, per Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News on X, formerly Twitter.
Poulakidas played well in his own right on Wednesday, scoring 23 points in the Mavericks' loss. It also goes to show just how long Booker has been dominating the competition in the NBA, as he now has players who grew up watching him as kids playing against him in the league, in what is now his 11th season.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are just counting down the days until the 2026 NBA Draft lottery, when they will hope for similar luck to last year, when they overcame unbelievable odds and lucked into drafting Flagg at number one overall.
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While Wednesday wasn't his best game, Flagg has still been an excellent rookie for Dallas, and the team will hope to add another blue-chip prospect to pair alongside him at the NBA Draft in late June.
Related: Mavericks rumors: Will Jason Kidd replace Nico Harrison as Dallas' general manager?
