On Christmas day, the Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to travel to the Footprint Center to face the Phoenix Suns. Mavs’ Luka Doncic and Suns’ Devin Booker have a budding intense rivalry that’s only been growing. Both are phenomenal talents in the NBA who have led their respective teams to the deep playoffs. The beef began in the hard-fought 2022 Western Conference semifinals that went till game 7.  

This Christmas match promises to be highly entertaining, as both are gritty opponents who are buckled up to vie for the top seed in the West. 

The history of Luka and Booker beef 

Let’s travel back to the 2022 conference semifinals. With a record-breaking 64 wins, the Suns faced the Mavs and got a 2-0 head start. The Mavs hit back and tied the series till game 6. What transpired in game 6 would seed one of the most intense rivalries in the modern NBA. 

Booker got hit with a tough foul, and he landed on the floor. After staying down for a bit, with a grin on his face, he took a shot at Luka and uttered, “Luka Special,” which obviously didn’t fit well with Luka. After the game, when Luka walked out of the tunnel, he responded to Booker’s jibe by saying “Everybody acting up tough when they up”. 

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The Mavericks ultimately prevailed in the seventh game, and an iconic meme was born. The Mavs were leading by 35 points at the beginning of the third quarter. Luka alone had 27 points while the Suns starting five were just at 15 points put together in the first half. Luka had the last laugh, but their kerfuffle continued even after.

In one of last season’s regular season games, the Suns knocked off the Mavs in an intense 130-126 points game. With 6 seconds left on the clock, Luka missed a layup shot over Kevin Durant leading to Booker taunting his miss. Luka proceeded into his face to talk back and they both started yapping at each other. 

Although the rivalry blew out of proportion, Doncic has clarified that it is born out of healthy competitiveness rather than hate. He even admired Booker for it. “It’s competitive basketball. I really love his game, the way he plays. A lot of times I watched the Phoenix Suns actually because of him,” Luka explained.

“It Boils Something Inside of Him, Lights That Fire Under Him”: Luka Doncic and Devin Booker Spat Gets a Fiery Take from Mavs Teammate

As both teams face each other on Christmas Eve, they are looking to bounce back from their losing streak. While the Suns have lost their last two games, the Mavs have lost three. Statistically, the Suns have dominated the Mavs in 8 of their last 10 regular season matches.

Watch this story:  “Luka Doncic joins LeBron James, Michael Jordan and other NBA legends in historic list after another 50-point performance”