By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Since his return to the NBA after EuroLeague experiences with Barcelona and Partizan Belgrade, Dante Exum has been hugely helping the Dallas Mavericks.
As reported by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth, the Australian guard was heavily praised by the team’s leader Luka Doncic. “Honestly, he’s been amazing so far. Not just really good, but amazing. His IQ is insane. He’s driving to the basket. His layups, he’s been hitting 3s. I’m really happy that he’s on the team because he’s been a great addition to our team”, the Slovenian commented about his teammate.
Averaging 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in this year’s NBA Regular Season, the former EuroLeague guard completely captured Jason Kidd’s attention. “He’s a basketball player. We’re trying to keep this simple. I know we’re looking for a buzzword or something different in the world, but he’s a basketball player, playing his role and being a star in his role, it’s a pretty cool thing because he’s not a max player. But he’s playing like a max player”, he commented about the 28-year-old, coached by Zeljko Obradovic last season.
“It’s a beautiful thing to watch. He deserves Everything he’s getting right now,” Kidd explained. “The expectations were off the charts for him when he was drafted at 18, but sometimes it just takes people a little bit longer. What he’s done is put himself as a starter, and we’ll keep him as a starter”, the Dallas Mavericks head coach also said,
Jason Kidd talked also about lining up Dante Exum, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving together. “When you have three ball handlers, I think we’ve figured that philosophy out. That ingredient of having three playmakers out there makes the game easier for Kai and Luka and puts a lot of pressure on their defense. To have Exum out there, it helps”, he added.
Playing against each other in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the 3rd place game between Australia and Slovenia, Dante Exum had the better with 12 points off the bench. On that occasion, Luka Doncic had 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in the defeat.
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— Frank Farmer (@TheBodyGuardF) December 28, 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images