"I witnessed him give somebody 24 points in three minutes" - Kyrie Irving on how much of a bad man Luka Doncic was at practice originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Luka Doncic is one of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen. The 26-year-old guard was the NBA's scoring champion during the 2023-24 season. Doncic's career scoring average of 28.62 points per game ranks third all-time behind only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.
Luka also holds the fourth-highest-scoring game of all time, dropping a career-high 73 points on January 26, 2024, against the Atlanta Hawks .
But Luka isn't just a killer during actual games. According to former teammate Kyrie Irving , he is just as deadly during regular practice sessions.
Irving and Doncic played together for two seasons, including the 2023-24 campaign, when they led the Dallas Mavericks to a trip to the NBA Finals, which they lost to the Boston Celtics . And according to Kai, Luka would casually drop insane numbers against his own teammates during scrimmage games.
Much was said about Luka this past season when the Mavericks traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster deal that saw Anthony Davis go to Dallas. GM Nico Harrison consistently pointed out that he was out of shape, while team owner Patrick Dumont alluded that he did not have the work ethic of the all-time greats.
However, during a recent stream where he was asked if Luka was "really like that" in practice too, Kyrie revealed that his Hermano was just as deadly even when playing behind closed doors in the Mavericks' practice facility. He went on to reveal how Doncic once torched a teammate during scrimmage.
"He's giving you probably like 60, 18, and 18. I witnessed him give somebody 24 points in three minutes," said Irving.
Irving's statement drew many reactions online, and many wondered which Mavericks player Luka annihilated in Kai's story. Many speculated it was former Mavericks wing/forward Grant Williams — and they might be right. Over a year ago, Dallas assistant GM Michael Finley mentioned a practice incident involving Luka and Grant.
"So one day in practice," recalled Finley. "A player in our team, I won't call his name out, but it was Grant Williams, who decided he wanted to get under Luka's skin. He thought Luka didn't come that day ready to practice.
"To make a long story short, we had a scrimmage going, and he's talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says, 'Okay.' And I tell you, Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody. I'm not exaggerating. He showed everything. The threes, the post up, the floaters, everything, by himself," he added.
Finley's story might be the very same one Irving referred to, except Kai likely lost track of Luka's points simply because there were too many to count. Or both were talking about different instances, which, if that's the case, only adds more to the legend of Doncic.
But remember that the Mavs signed Williams to a four-year free agent deal only to trade him before he could complete Year 1. The rumour was he rubbed some feathers the wrong way because of his yapping. Or perhaps it was simply that he wasn't the defender they anticipated, as the Slovenian sensation lit him up for 24 points in just three minutes.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
