The Wonder Boy: Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness

by Tim MacMahon

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon examines the pressure of building around a prodigy in the NBA, through the prism of the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic.

THE WONDER BOY chronicles Doncic’s journey from the most hyped European teen prospect in basketball history to a generational NBA star -- and all the madness that ensues as the Mavericks attempt to avoid blowing the golden opportunity of having a young, perennial MVP candidate as the franchise centerpiece. The book digs behind the scenes of the drama and dysfunction in Dallas during the early years of Doncic’s career, when owner Mark Cuban’s front office focused as much on internal power struggles as actually improving the basketball team. And it covers the new regime’s effort to earn Doncic’s loyalty, which requires putting the ruthless competitor in position to win. Readers will learn never-before-reported details about the blockbuster deal for Kristaps Porzingis that blew up in the Mavs’ faces, the divorces with coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson, the series of mistakes that led to Jalen Brunson leaving after a run to the Western Conference finals, the new pairing with mercurial Kyrie Irving, roster moves that could have been made and much more.
 
As the clock ticks on the Mavs’ search for a co-star, THE WONDER BOY dives into how the Mavericks have handled a dilemma every NBA team would love to have.

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

Reviews

[Dustin Griffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible. The majority of the book is just play by play of all of the significant or interesting games Doncic has played, along with rehashing of post game interviews. It’s written, poorly, by a man that Doncic can’t stand. A point he has made very clear over the years. And despite coming out after the Doncic trade to LA, it makes no mention of it.
Amongst the worst NBA hagiographies I’ve ever read.

[Brendan Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed "The Wonder Boy: Luka Dončić and The Curse of Greatness" by Tim MacMahon. It's a well-written and deeply reported account of Dončić's career at the Dallas Mavericks which benefits from MacMahon's detailed knowledge of the team and the various characters.

The book was finished prior to the surprise blockbuster trade that saw Dončić move to the Lakers last month. This gives a slightly surreal feeling - I'm reading it before it's released but the facts have changed dramatically. A lot of lines and quotes take on a new relevance.

The one weakness is that the book falls short of being a comprehensive bio of Dončić. It's excellent at telling how he is as a basketball player but a lot about the person is left unexplored - broad questions, like how fatherhood impacted him, go largely unexamined.

It suffers a bit by comparison to the recent Jokic bio which went deeper on who Jokic is as a person. It also suffers compared to the excellent bio of Dirk Nowotziki, his predecessor as the Mavs star. I assume Dončić wasn't interested in facilitating a deeper look.

A real dislike of mine is when a book's title or subtitle overpromises or misleads what the book will be about. I feel like sports books do this a lot pretending a book will explore or shine a light on some universal topic but never actually go there. Most of all it's absolutely not about any 'Curse of Greatness' - Luka is a happy chap who is very much uncursed! (The 'curse' seems to be the challenge of building a team around Luka I think but that is a problem the Lakers are now happy to have!)

Had it been titled Luka Dončić and the Mav's quest for NBA glory, then I'd been saying what a great book. It's probably the best book that could be written about Dončić unless he decides to open up to a writer. It's very good but it isn't quite what it promised on the cover.

[Trey Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luka is a competitive psycho. The fact that he was ever traded is still absolutely unexplainable!

[Lauren | Wordsbetweenlines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this book and wanted to know all about Luca. But it was dry. It was very analytical and about stats and didn’t get into Luca as a person. I still can’t tell you who he is or what he’s about. Other than he is good at basketball. I can tell you that some games he scored a lot and we could reference the book for those exact games.

This book really digs into all the nitty gritty decisions the Mavs made and play by plays of their game primarily from 2018-2024.

Also, the timing of this is a bit funny, coming out right after Luca was just blindsided with a trade to the Lakers.

This is for the fans that like a lot of info and data and less story telling.

Pub Day: March 25

Thank you Hachette for the copy 🤍🤍

[Jeffrey Lush · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just isn’t what it says it is. It’s supposed to be about Luka and the challenges of building around a superstar. However, it never gets into the roads not taken, the mistakes, or how other teams are doing it. It’s also not a biography of Luka, which could’ve saved it. It summarizes his career thus far reasonably well.

It’s also not a great book if you’re not a close follower of basketball or the mavs. Lots of shorthand and just assumptions that you know the NBA. It’s not written well, and has some editing errors in it.

I’m a Hoop Collective listener (the podcast the author is a part of) and a huge nba fan and I just thought this book didn’t live up to the hype. You could argue it was green lit too soon, as the story wasn’t finished (building around Luka). Then the trade happens and the book really had minimal purpose. It probably should’ve been a book about the last 15 years of the mavs or taken a wider view of building around superstars in general (Luka, Wemby, Zion, etc). That would’ve been probably better source material than the narrow focus on just Luka.

I would not recommend this book to nba fans or mavs fans. I think if you want to read a current book about the NBA read Why so Serious about Jokic, the recent LeBron biography, or the recent Giannis biography. This book is just a project that missed the mark and doesn’t have enough interesting information that you wouldn’t have heard elsewhere.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t decide if this is a 3* or 4*. There’s some good stuff in here, but after getting drafted, not much of it is about Dončić… The Mavs seem quite dysfunctional behind the scenes. I’m also not really sure what I’m meant to make of Luka after reading this. Will have to ponder before posting full review.

Full review here: https://civilianreader.com/2025/01/08...

[Tomy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot about Luka's NBA career and the Dallas Mavericksm I was hoping for more chapters on Lukas early career and upbringing in Slovenia and Spain.

[John Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book, and am a big fan of Tim MacMahon but I would've gotten the same analysis reading the box scores on basketball reference.

[Fathom · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah so this book would have been a lot better had Luka not been traded

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 3 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “WELL, WHEN YOU GOT A GUY LIKE LUKA, HE’S GOING TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS,” NICO HARRISON (DALLAS MAVERICKS EXECUTIVE) SAID EARLY IN HIS TENURE. “SO HOPEFULLY, HE WINS THEM IN DALLAS AND I’M A PART OF IT.”
**************************** PAGE 170 ****************************
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOOOPPPPPPSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

“ THIS IS THE FRANCHISE THAT DRAFTED ME, AND THEY GAVE ME THE KEYS,” DONCIC SAID LATE IN THE SEASON. “I’M JUST GLAD I’M HERE IN DALLAS.”

****** ************THE ABSOLUTE LAST SENTENCE IN THE BOOK ON PAGE 339! ************************************

XXXXXXXX PERHAPS THE BIGGEST FREAKIN OOPS IN SPORTS HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XXXXX
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As any… even marginal sports fan knows… that perhaps the biggest and most… absolutely surprising trade in sports history was made on the night of February 1-2, 2025… when the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks… out of the blue… Dallas traded Luka Doncic (and some forgettable pieces… and microscopically involved the Utah Jazz)… to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. (aka “THE-GLASS-MAN”… and the moniker… “GLASS-MAN” … has nothing to do with rebounds… it has everything to do with… if anyone touches him… or breathes on him… he shatters like a piece of broken glass! Which was more than evidenced in his very first game with his new team in Dallas!)

Less than two months after this trade was announced… (And most people… including me… immediately… upon hearing of this deal… thought for sure it was another off the wall… internet hoax!)… this book was released!

In hindsight… this turn of events… could be deemed as good news… for the author... i.e. more book sales because of the immediate post trade frenzy… or bad news… especially for potential readers… as there is absolutely… not one word about this earth-shaking transaction… in the entire book.

The concept of the book is following Luka… and the Mavericks executives… leading up to the fateful NBA 2018 draft… when Dallas and the Atlanta Hawks made their draft night trade… and then... the interaction between Luka… Dallas executives… players… and coaches for the years that followed. Unfortunately… there is almost no… true literary… engaging… enticing writing… of either a poetic… or simply captivating spine tingling… variety. Ninety per-cent of the book,,, seems to be almost “cut-and-paste”... and thinly massaged data from one games box score after another.

What truly comes through loud and clear… is that Luka is never truly in shape. Yes… he leads the league in scoring… and makes All-Pro year after year… but as one former Mav’s executive spouted… “IT’S OK TO GO TO McDONALD’S… BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE THERE!” Additionally… Luka is a terrible defensive player… who other teams directly target in big games. Many times Doncic goes on hot streaks that are truly spectacular… but other games he goes in the opposite direction… and literally has no shame in never holding back… and actually holds some all-time records for three-point-futility!

Former owner… and still a minority shareholder… Mark Cuban… is laid out in full… unflattering view… as a lying… mismanaging lowlife… which among many low-light-highlights… is having his team openly TANKING ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS! Coaches such as Jason Kidd and Rick Carlisle… are portrayed as weak enablers… who have to walk around on egg shells… so as not to hurt the feelings of Doncic… having to face the reality of his shortcomings. Then there are all the flubs by Cuban and the front office in not only trying… but saying… they have got the perfect star to team with Luka to win CHAMPIONSHIPS??!! Such as the total failure of acquiring Kristaps Porzingis. This epic Cuban failure… was exasperated even further by the fact that their coach at the time… Carlisle… wasn’t the right man for the job… because… “NEITHER OF THE MAV’S BEST PLAYERS ENJOYED PLAYING FOR HIM.”

There are certain players in the NBA… who literally believe and act like… there are two “truths”… in the world… and those two sacrosanct facts … are… THAT THEY HAVE NEVER FOULED ANYBODY IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES… and the second is… THEY’VE NEVER… MISSED A SHOT IN THEIR LIVES… UNLESS THEY WERE FOULED! The first such (of many) self-idolizing “dolts”… is LeBron James (Note: I am a Lakers fan… so credit me with complete honesty!)… and the second is Luka. What… perhaps… comes through as the clearest point in this entire book… is the fact that Luka (I’m going to use an old-school term here.) … has a severe… incurable… case of **RABBIT-EARS**! He is constantly yelling at… arguing with… being demonstrative… to… fans in the stands… page after page… game after game. If that isn’t enough... he non-stop argues with referees… despite promise after promise to coaches and executives not to. There are as many instances of this in this book as there are reports of field goals made and missed.

The writing in this book…in some ways… mirrors life itself… hits and misses… if you’re looking for a scrap book of box scores… this is a hit… if you’re looking for engaging… creative… touching of any emotions… this is a miss.

*** I TOLD YOU SO NOTE: I wrote and posted this review Tuesday morning April 8, 2025… TUESDAY EVENING APRIL 8, 2025 LUKA WAS KICKED OUT OF A VERY IMPORTANT PLAYOFF RANKING EFFECTED GAME AGAINST THE OKLAHOMA THUNDER IN THE FOURTH QUARTER FOR ARGUING AND CUSSING OUT FANS AND A REFEREE! ***

** I HAVE ADDED THIS IMPORTANT UPDATE AT 10:45AM PST WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2025! **

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

uphill challenge for the author to win high rating from me, as Doncic is probably my least favorite NBA player, but I thought I'd take a look to get my mind right for the playoffs in which my top hope is that Boston wins another title, while #2 is for anybody but the Lakers to win.

Mostly a notebook dump -- he covers the Mavs for ESPN, and a very high % of the listed sources are his own columns. If the book jacket had not ID'ed him as a Dallas beat reporter, you'd still be able to tell that he has a courtside seat -- peculiarly detailed accounts of the body language and specific curse words involved in Doncic's incessant whining to refs about calls or lack thereof. Lots of blow-by-blow of Dallas seasons and key games, notably their unexpected run to the finals last year. Author is more interested in the salary cap technicalities that influence trade and free agent decisions in the Association than many readers may be.

Odd to me that someone ok'ed a mid-career full bio on an athlete who doesn't seem to have agreed to cooperate with it. Apparently Doncic doesn't like this writer, and you get about 12x as many quotes from Kyrie Irving or Porzingis or Mark Cuban as from Doncic, with basically nothing about his personal life (in fairness, there's some good stuff about his play in Spanish league as a basketball prodigy and his enthusiastic participation on Slovenian national team, via interviews with coaches and teammates from these days).

funny ending in light of subsequent trade to LA: "....in a league that changes swiftly, the Mavs managed to earn the most treasured commodity: stability with a superstar" (p. 339). I read all the Nico Harrison parts carefully to see if you could even in hindsight tell the train wreck was coming, but it seemed as if they got along/were on same page at first, and the bill of particulars they've cited since the trade (Doncic isn't good on defense and doesn't consistently work hard on that end; Doncic is lax/sporadic about conditioning and diet and gets overweight in offseason as though he were a 1950's NFL lineman or something) consists of EXACTLY the same issues he had his whole career. Why after 6+ seasons of building around a guy's strengths (incredible offensive talent) do you suddenly decide his negatives are intolerable, and he has to go?

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure why the author used the subtitle Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness, perhaps he meant the Mavs were the ones with the curse of Luka’s greatness? Because I failed to see any mentions from the author about what this curse would be for Luka or why anyone would think that. Regardless, like the title, I think I had a different expectation going in to this book. I thought it would be focused on getting to know Luka, but other than a fairly basic bio and background of his younger years it did not really let us know more about him. There are no interviews other than the short sound bites he would provide in his post game press conferences, and the focus was much more about the Mavs organization and the team’s results each year he played in the NBA.

The majority of the book felt like a compilation of detailed play by play, post game recap articles and press conference sound bites combined with some behind the scenes drama in the Mavs organization. There is very little focus on Luka as a person, just stats, play by play recaps, and some front office shenanigans. It’s basically a timeline of events about the period leading up to when Dallas drafted Luka to their 2024 playoff run with a heavy amount of play by play and stats which was very dull and repetitive. The look at the dysfunction of the front office was more interesting but didn’t go very deep either, everything is just very surface level with very little new info.

This might be a good book for Dallas fans who want a look back at the Luka years now that he’s been traded away. And on that note, this book was clearly finished prior to the trade bc there is absolutely no mention of it or even a hint that Dallas might go that direction eventually.

The author has reported on the NBA and Mavericks for quite some time and clearly knows his stuff, I’m just not sure exactly what he was trying to accomplish with this book. I walked away knowing more than I ever wanted to about their game recaps and less than I wanted to know about Luka.

Thanks Grand Central Publishing for the gifted copy!

[Daryl J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a sports fan for most of my life. I’ve followed the Detroit professional teams for most of my life, along with a couple of college/university football and basketball teams. I love the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament. Admittedly, I’m not as big a fan as I used to be especially professional sports, but I still enjoy watching. I do occasionally pick up a sports book to read. Lately, I’ve read several of them. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of THE WONDER BOY by Tim MacMahon. I found it to be an excellent read and gave me some insight not only into Luka Doncic, but also insight into the dealmaking that goes into professional sports. MacMahon has an inside perspective, as an ESPN reporter as well as following the Dallas Mavericks for several decades. Very readable. My only real beef is that while the subtitle of the book is “Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness,” I expected a little bit more reflection on the part of MacMahon about what he meant by “the curse of greatness.” Doncic is a tremendous athlete and competitor, and as a result, he has his own passions and demons to control, but I was expecting a bit more. That being said, THE WONDER BOY is a very worthwhile read that provides great insight into this talented athlete, especially if you follow professional basketball.

[Jesse Lehrman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am I glad I read it? Yeah, I think so. Luka Doncic is someone I think is awesome to watch play basketball, and I am an avid listener of the hoop collective podcast (big Tim MacMahon fan from that pod). What makes me hesitate though? The book reads more like an extended wikipedia page rather than a book with a point of view. I don't really know what the message MacMahon was trying to get across here was. And that can be okay, but I just wish he maintained more of his wit that I've grown to love on the hoop collective podcast. Didn't really get any of that here. So between all of that, it would be a really weak book. BUT it was about a truly fascinating character (Doncic), so I'm glad I got through it and I definitely learned a lot through reading it.

[Doug Stotland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun to relive some of the play by play of the last 5 years watching Doncic do amazing things in the court and suffering through his appalling whining at the refs.

The last quote “I’m just glad I’m here in Dallas” is a great troll. I was bummed it ended there and didn’t include the epic drama of him leaving for LA.

Not much insight on Doncic. Very thin on backstory and most of the content was reused from covering Dallas . I’d love to read the book that does more research and interviews for a bio. Doncic seems like he’d be interesting beyond the gifted, beer guzzling hoops loving prodigy brat that we all hear about. Hope someone writes that book.

Some good Cuban tidbits. Not as easy to like from this reporting.

[Taylor Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. There is a reason Tim MacMahon isn't well liked (and is clearly hurt by it). Maybe if you aren't already a Mavs fan and only followed Luka's story from afar then you might find some interesting tidbits. But if you've been a Mavs fan then there is absolutely nothing new in here that we didn't all already know. I get this was in the works before the trade and so this wasn't some long con or conspiracy by MacMahon but it is frustrating that this guy gets to profit off this franchises darkest (albeit self-inflicted) hour.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book because I live in the DFW metro area and Luka Doncic was recently traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers. Many Dallas natives and Mavs fans were in shock that Mavericks management would give up on Doncic and trade him to the Lakers for almost nothing in return. The book was interesting and intriguing, but my overall attitude about Doncic didn't change. He is a great player with much basketball talent, but he doesn't work hard, complains a lot, and doesn't maintain his body in great form to have a long NBA career.

[Logan Zwerneman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it would’ve hit harder if I didn’t already know most of what was written since I follow the NBA pretty in-depth? … But are people like me not the target audience? This was kinda more a compilation of all the reporting done on Luka over the years moreso than a behind-the-scenes into his life. You pretty much could’ve gotten all this info by reading Mavs reporting over the years. I was certainly hoping for more info I didn’t already know. ⭐️⭐️

[Jeff Wait · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot of good anecdotes in this one. Does a good job painting a well-rounded picture of Luka thus far. But he’s so young still. Makes me wonder: Why do a biography of him and why still publish it after the big trade? Feels like the right time to pump the breaks and add another layer. What do I know? Answer: not a lot. But this book taught me a good bit about Luka. Mission accomplished. Came for Luka, stayed for the Brunson chapter.

[Andy Oerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the read for what it was: a couple of chapters about Luka’s career prior to the NBA, followed by an overview of the Mavericks organization from the night Luka was drafted through the 2024 Finals. There’s not much (if anything) new for Mavs fans. But of course we all know the massive plot twist that occurred a few months after Klay Thompson’s signing, which is the last event recounted in this book. And there’s really nothing in these pages that reveals the mad tyrant Nico H. must be.

The end result is a cruel irony, making it seem like the Mavs’ brain trust (MFFL ROFL) was loyal to Luka—when now we all know better.

File the book’s final sentences under D for Didn’t Age Well:
“… in a league that changes swiftly, the Mavs managed to earn the most treasured commodity: stability with a superstar.”

“This is the franchise that drafted me, and they gave me the keys,” Doncic said late in the season. “I’m just glad I’m here in Dallas.”

Ouch.

#FireNico

[Andrew Chadick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just a review of Luka’s career … and then quickly added the chapter at the end of the book when he was surprisingly traded. Sure there were a few snippets of “inside” info along the way but if you’re at all familiar with the Mavericks and/or Doncic you’re not going to learn much from this book.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good rundown of the whole Luka saga. I remember most of this when it happened, but seeing it laid out certainly shows the chaos that was Mavericks organization. Disappointed that this went to print right before the trade. I've heard there is an extra chapter in the digital edition, but I haven't been able to get a hold of it yet.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Tim MacMahon. He seems like a good person and his podcasts with Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps are quite entertaining.

However, though this book started off pretty interesting, because I did not know much about Luka's early days in Slovenia and Spain, after awhile I just felt like I was reading one ESPN column after another of NBA game summaries.

[Ambar Bajpai · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most interesting part of these biographies to me are the childhood and personal lives of the subject. The things we don’t see in the public normally. This book had almost none of that, especially as it relates to childhood. Did not appear that the writer had access to the subject or people close to him. Even for a basketball fan, very uninteresting.

[Nile · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t finish. In fact Didn’t get past the first chapter because the author spent pages villainizing players for wanting to control their careers like I need another mouthpiece for billionaire owners in my life. Clearly a cash grab by the guy who happened to be lucky enough to be the beat reporter for the team that got Luka.

[James Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid book overall, not my fav though. Pretty tough to get through as the trade still stings big time (it always will) but it was cool to see how dysfunction was brewing in the Mavs front office for a time before it ultimately boiled over in arguably the worst trade in sports since Babe Ruth was sent to the Yankees. Love Luka, solid work showcasing his Mavs tenure.

[Ian Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tim MacMahon defender here, but this was disappointedly surface-level. Rather than a deep dive into Luka the person, it’s a chronological recap of his noteworthy games in Dallas up until the 2024 NBA Finals and little more. I couldn’t even recommend this to the die hard NBA fan :-(

[Benjamin Diskin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating dive into the minutia of Luka Doncic and his career in the NBA up to the offseason before he was traded. Would love to get an epilogue once JT has played out a bit more, but good work by Tim McMahon and you can definitely hear his voice come through.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Luka! Can't wait to read this. I know it'll be good!

[Adam Reisinger]

No rating or review on this one, since it wouldn’t be fair (given that I work with Tim).

But I will say even knowing much of the info in the book, I enjoyed the read.