Irving's bizarre statement about Doncic after Mavericks win: 'He's a big teddy bear'

The Mavericks are already in the Western Conference Finals, it will be the second time in three years that they reach the penultimate round of the Playoffs and, in large part, their win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-116 that closed the series, 4-2, is the triumph of Mark Cuban's project when he decided to bet on Kyrie Irving to complement his star man, Luka Doncic.

The experiment did not start well at all, with several defeats that added many doubts to those already there, and failure to enter the Playoffs at the end of last year seemed to doom everything. Some adjustments and above all an extraordinary partnership between the two superstars have now brought this West final and above all dreams that the title, perhaps, is not so far away.

After the game against the Thunder, both Doncic and Irving appeared before reporters to shower praise on their teammate, in a demonstration that the relationship, as good as it looks on the court, is almost better off the court.

Doncic said of Irving, "I've had nothing but in everything I've done and everything I do... He's just helped me mature my game a lot, help me realize to look at basketball in a different way, and obviously on the court it's unbelievable to play with someone like him. The leader he's been for us, not just for me, but for all of us, has been incredible."

Irving then took the floor to talk about Doncic: "I think this guy next to me has pushed me to continue to work on my game and continue to develop as a young leader and I think the big word that we can both agree on is maturity. Coming into Dallas, I was dealing with a lot, I was welcomed with open arms. I knew eventually I would get (Luka) to open up, this guy is a big teddy bear sometimes off the court, a big competitor. A teddy bear that likes to compete. He's still dodging me at dominoes. I just have to sit back and marvel at his talent. I enjoy watching him be a father, I enjoy watching him develop as a person first, and then basketball will take care of everything. Good human being."

Earlier, after the game, Luka Doncic spoke to ESPN about his next opponent in the West Finals. He was clear: "Clearly we are going to face a very tough team, either Denver or Minnesota. Today we're going to celebrate this and tomorrow we're going to rest, but we have to watch Game 7 and be ready for what's coming." That's the big goal now for the Mavs' great pairing of Doncic and Irving.