ESPN’s Tim MacMahon chronicles the career of the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and examines the pressure of building an NBA team around a prodigy.

In 2018, the Dallas Mavericks landed the most hyped European teen prospect in basketball history—Luka Doncic, who has proven to be a generational NBA talent with a flair for sensational playmaking. But that’s only half the story. With The Wonder Boy, MacMahon takes us beyond the highlights to the madness that ensues as the Mavericks try to avoid blowing their golden opportunity.

From the internal power struggles in owner Mark Cuban’s front office during the early years of Doncic’s career, to the new regime’s effort to earn Doncic’s loyalty and put the ruthless competitor in position to win, readers will learn never-before-reported details about the saga’s biggest moments, including:

• • the blockbuster deal for Kristaps Porzingis that blew up in the Mavs’ faces
  • the divorces with coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson
  • Jalen Brunson’s exit after a run to the Western Conference finals
  • the new pairing with the mercurial Kyrie Irving
  • the improbable journey to the 2024 Finals

As the clock ticks on the Mavs’ quest to win it all with their irreplaceable young star, The Wonder Boy pulls back the curtain on a dilemma every NBA team would love to have.

Anyone who has watched the Mavericks play since they acquired Luka Dončić in 2018 will recognize the player’s electric talent. Blistering stat-lines define most of his NBA career so far. He is not, however, otherwise particularly well-known. Like many non-American stars, he remains quite private and not the most forthcoming when it comes to the media/press. In The Wonder Boy, Tim MacMahon attempts to explain this young phenom, and how he fits into the modern NBA. Continue reading →