While there is no shortage of headlines ahead of the 2024 NBA Finals featuring the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, one topic has been an intriguing talking point. Former Mavericks teammates Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porziņģis, who’s set to return from injury in Game 1 for the Celtics, were said to have some “beef,” according to former player-turned-analyst Chandler Parsons.
While speaking on FanDuelTV’s “Run It Back,” Parsons said Dončić didn’t like playing with Porziņģis and that there’s an “actual beef” between the two.
“They do not like Porzingis in Dallas… Luka did not like playing with him, there is an actual beef there,” Parsons said.
The comments drew plenty of attention and added to an already-enticing matchup with Kyrie Irving facing his former team. But on Tuesday, Dončić was asked about the comments made by Parsons and was quick to dismiss them while also pointing out that he’s spoken to the former player “maybe twice” in his life, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News detailed.
“That’s why I don’t watch a lot of that, because people don’t know,” Dončić told reporters. “I’ve talked to Chandler Parsons maybe twice in my life, so I don’t know how he would know that. But me and KP have a good relationship.”
Porziņģis also addressed the topic while stating that there’s no “ill will” between him and Dončić, as ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed.
“It just wasn’t perfect for us playing together, and it didn’t work out. And that’s it. There’s no ill will, I don’t think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don’t think there should be,” Porziņģis said. “It just didn’t work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there.”
Porziņģis spent three seasons in Dallas, playing 134 regular-season games. Over that stretch, he posted averages of 20.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, shooting 44.8 percent from the field.
He also made the playoffs twice with the Mavericks, in 2020 and 2021. Over that two-year span, the Mavericks played 10 postseason games and Porziņģis averaged 16.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
