SUMMARY
- Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to their 50th win against the Heat.
- Irving cashed a $1 million bonus for helping the Mavericks win 50 games.
Nobody believed Kyrie Irving would fit in well with the Dallas Mavericks until he proved everybody otherwise. This season has been great for the former NBA Champion. He has been in search for his second title and it only seemed fitting to pair him with a young star like Luka Doncic. However, it was the fact that they’re both ball-dominant that made people question the pairing. But finishing fifth in the Western Conference only shows that they’re a perfect duo.
Whole team is wearing “Pravi MVP” shirts. Other than Luka pic.twitter.com/bXmcYcGEWN
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) April 10, 2024
Doncic has been making a strong case for the MVP title this season and everybody on the Mavericks believes he deserves it. When the Mavericks played against the Miami Heat, Mavericks players wore t-shirts that said “Pravi MVP” which translates to “Real MVP”. Besides Luka’s MVP rallying, Kyrie also earned himself a $1 million bonus.
Kyrie Irving challenged himself to be more productive this season
Players enjoy numerous perks and bonuses for hitting certain milestones every season. One of the milestones was to win 50 games this season which would have granted a million-dollar bonus for Kyrie Irving. Luckily, the Mavericks were able to pull off an exceptional win against the Heat to secure their 50th win and a clinched playoff spot. Irving claimed he wanted to set aside some challenges for him to bring out higher productivity on the floor this season.
Kyrie Irving just received a $1 Million bonus for winning 50+ games💰 pic.twitter.com/AVsJm9LvMM
— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) April 11, 2024
He said, “I wanted everything that was structured in my contract incentive-wise to be based on production and that was wins and how many games I’m playing. I hear all the noise. So I just wanted to make sure that I had some friendly terms, but also some realistic expectations for myself going into the season, looking to just play as many games as possible.” Irving also signed a $126 million three-year deal with the Mavericks ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Kyrie Irving will fall short of a 65-game bonus
A 50-win season was one of two bonuses planned for Kyrie Irving. Along the way, he faced a few injuries and setbacks that sidelined him for a significant amount of time. He was expected to play for 65 games to qualify for a second bonus. However, the ankle injury he suffered earlier made him fall short of the milestone. He has only appeared for 58 games and will play for a possible 60 games considering there are two more matchups left for this season.
Kyrie Irving earns a $1 million bonus with the Mavs’ 50th win. He’s been a driving force in Dallas’ success. Mavs are 39-19 with Irving in the lineup, including 24-7 during his streak of 31 straight games played.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 11, 2024
Another interesting stat about Kyrie Irving’s presence on the floor is that when he appeared for 31 consecutive games, the Mavericks went on a 24-7 run. With Irving on the floor, Dallas has achieved a 39-19 record. With the postseason closing in, the Mavericks are looking extremely dangerous. They’ve won 16 of their last 18 games mainly because of Irving and Doncic’s efforts.