Luka Doncic continues to amaze the Dallas Mavericks organization with his all-around brilliance. Yesterday, the international NBA star stole the show in Texas with his triple-double in the home win against the San Antonio Spurs. Today, the 24-year-old has brought joy to the franchise with his off-court endeavors right before Christmas.

The Slovenian guard gifted Mercedes-EQ bikes to all the members of the organization as a Christmas present. These electric bicycles have a retail price between $2,500-$3,000 as Doncic bought one for each of his teammates alongside staff members. This gesture conveyed the 4x All-Star’s appreciation for the franchise after spending over half a decade with them.

By the looks of the video, Doncic gifted his teammates, the Mercedes Benz EQ Formula E Team Silver Arrows Bike. A very high-tech electric bike that was only recently released, it weighs approximately 44 pounds in total and includes dual batteries, as per Mercedes-Benz. It also has ‘Enviolo Constant Variable Transmission’, a new system by Mercedes that removes the need to deal with a complex gear-changing system. It also cuts down on derailleurs for the rider, something that would go a long way in improving the experience. As one might expect, these are just a few of the many complex features available.

That said, one thing to note here is that these bikes are specifically built for riders between 5ft5″ and 6ft. However, the average height of an NBA player is a towering 6ft 5″. So far, it is unknown if Doncic had the bikes specifically customized for his teammates’s ease of riding. However, given the problems uncustomized versions of these bikes would pose to his teammates, it is very likely that Doncic’s teammates’ bikes came with some serious modifications.

The entire team highly appreciated the gift from the youngster as a clip capturing their delight surfaced soon after. All of them seemed surprised upon witnessing the lined-up bikes in the dressing room soon after entering it. Tim Hardaway Jr. in particular spoke for the roster as he jokingly stated, “Luka is alright man,” while treasuring the moment.

This came across as a continuation of Doncic’s surprise act from the last year’s Christmas period. During that time, he spent approximately $20,000 on gifts for the team as he presented each member with a scooter. Thus, the 6ft 7″ guard might well be on his way to turning this into a tradition in Dallas to display his closeness with the organization.

All these point toward the influence of the 2019 ROTY as he continues with his efforts of keeping the group tightly knitted. This kind of gesture can prove to be of tantamount importance toward team chemistry for the Dallas Mavericks. Especially with the franchise looking like contenders this season, Luka Doncic stepping up as the leader both on and off the court is likely to have a major impact on the team.

This is a big reason why, despite the presence of 2016 NBA champion Kyrie Irving on the roster, Doncic has maintained his place as the face of the franchise. The team’s former majority owner Mark Cuban even publicly declared the following, earlier this year,

“Kyrie is a super smart guy and he knows it’s Luka’s team”. 

Even Kyrie Irving, along with the rest of the Dallas Mavericks, looks very happy with the keys in Luka Doncic’s hands. The team’s high-profile #2 option being as accepting as he has been will undoubtedly come as a major chemistry boost for the roster. With everyone so happy, and the team winning games, Dallas can only grow more dangerous as the season wears on.

The job is not yet over for Luka Doncic

On Christmas Day, the Mavericks are traveling to Arizona to play against the Phoenix Suns. Since the 2022 playoffs, the two teams have developed a rivalry, with the Suns coming away victorious on most occasions in the recent regular seasons. Thus, the task is unlikely to be an easy one for the visitors. However, given Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks’ quality this season, they are hardly a team the Suns can ease up against either.

Amidst the anticipation, the personal rivalry between the two team’s star guards, Doncic and Devin Booker, is another aspect to look forward to. The duo has been involved in a few spats and brawls in the past two seasons, raising the excitement around the matchup. Despite this, they showcased mutual admiration ahead of the game, with the Mavs guard stating, “I really love his game”. 

Booker only echoed Doncic’s words, saying the following, “Me and Luka’s respect for each other has been mutual and at a high level since he came into the league”.

Yet, the duo are bound to compete at a high level upon facing each other on the court. That said, when they both face off on the court, they are unlikely to be quite so cordial, something that only adds excitement to this contest.

Additionally, Doncic will have the opportunity to enter the league’s history books by becoming the youngest player to reach the 10,000 points mark, something he only needs to score 11 more points to achieve. As if the anticipation around this match-up wasn’t competitive enough already, this aspect of it will likely motivate Doncic to go on as many scoring barrages as he can during the game. In turn, this contest will only become that much more fun.