Entering his seventh NBA season, Luka Doncic continues to dominate the NBA.

Doncic has consistently been one of the best players in the NBA, and his regular season excellence finally transitioned into a deep playoff run last season as the Mavs reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Even with a handful of injuries, Doncic was able to help Dallas roll through the rest of the West in the playoffs, but taking down the Boston Celtics was too tall of a task.

The 2024-25 season is poised to be a good one for Dallas considering how well their offseason went, and the expectations for Doncic continue to be high.

Pierce highlights mounting pressure on Doncic heading into next season

On “Ticket & The Truth,” Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett discussed “which star player is under the most pressure coming into the season,” and Pierce chose Doncic.

Pierce’s reasoning behind picking Doncic included how he has been favored to win the MVP the last few years and has now made the NBA Finals along with multiple appearances in the Western Conference Finals.

Garnett disagreed because of Doncic’s youth, and stated that Doncic “didn’t have a championship team.” He’s right in the way that Doncic’s teams weren’t loaded enough to win the Finals until now, but Pierce may be right that Doncic is starting to have some pressure on his shoulders to win a title in Dallas.

The Mavericks’ title window with this roster is the next two seasons, and they must go on another deep playoff run to build some continuity and gain chemistry to pursue a championship again the following season. Dallas has the players to make it happen this season, but if not, they should be in the hunt once again the following year.

Doncic’s contract still has two more years on it before he has a player option in the summer of 2026, and the Mavs have done a great job of building a complimentary roster around him and Kyrie Irving. Irving has a player option after this season, and although he seems to love Dallas, he could opt out of his contract after next season if he wanted to.

Doncic isn’t under tremendous pressure as he is still young and many of his teammates are young, but there definitely is some pressure for this team (as currently constructed) to win right now. Both Irving and Klay Thompson are aging, and many of Dallas’ key role players’ contracts don’t go beyond the 2025-26 season.

Doncic and the Mavs are in a great spot to go win the Finals right now with the roster they have, but the road won’t be easy. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves will both be in the mix to win the West, and Doncic will have to outduel their young superstars once again to reach the Finals.