Mavs Notes: Luka Dončić Takes China by Storm on Historic Jordan Brand Tour
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić joins other NBA fan-favorites on Jordan Brand's first China tour, exploring Shanghai and connecting with fans.
After participating in Goran Dragić’s farewell game in Ljubljana, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić traveled to China to participate in a Jordan Brand tour—the first-ever for the company in the country. He’s accompanied by fellow NBA fan-favorites Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, and Paolo Banchero.
While the timing didn’t quite work out for me to cover this in person, Jordan Brand provided Dallas Hoops Journal with a behind-the-scenes look at Dončić’s involvement on the “China Family Tour” from the stop in Shanghai.
The players stopped by Nike’s Shanghai campus and went on boat rides in The Bund. They also attended a basketball park to interact with Chinese fans.
Additionally, Jordan Brand provided some clips of each superstar involved in the tour. I put those together in a quick two-minute compilation for NBA fans to enjoy on my YouTube channel.
The next and final stop on the Jordan Brand tour is Beijing. Stay tuned here for more content from Dončić’s involvement in the tour.
Dončić is expected to then attend a game honoring Dražen Petrović in Zagreb, Croatia on Sept. 5. Since the LED court being used for the game isn’t suitable for NBA standards, Dončić, and the other Croatian and European talents set to attend will be unable to participate in actual gameplay.
My conversation on ‘We Talk Mavs’
Since my previous podcast ‘Inside the Mavs’ is now defunct as a result of ALL CITY Network coming to Dallas, I haven’t produced podcast content discussing the Mavericks since I was in Ljubljana covering Luka’s friendly game with the Slovenian national team against Brazil before departing for Greece to cover the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament. At that time, Klay Thompson’s potential arrival in Dallas was still just a rumor instead of a concrete outcome.
I appeared on the ‘We Talk Mavs’ show in what was over a discussion that spanned roughly an hour and a half diving deep into the team’s roster after their offseason changes following an NBA Finals run. This was a lot of fun.
On a side note: My goal is to have Dallas Hoops Journal on a more built-out website before the season, but I want to continue running this Substack as a newsletter that shares all of the latest information plus my content across all formats.
If you or anyone you know has professional capabilities with web design, video editing, or graphic design to make social media and thumbnails, I could use the help. I’m also looking for a podcast studio relatively near the American Airlines Center or around the general Frisco area.
My goal is to continue to expand my content volume with greater quality on YouTube with frequent updates discussing the latest about the team in addition to doing film breakdowns. I’m looking forward to making the upcoming season my best covering the team and the NBA overall.
Rehashing Brunson’s Mavericks departure to New York
Mark Cuban appeared on the latest episode of Jalen Brunson’s “Roommates Show” podcast to discuss a wide-range of topics. Cuban shared some of his thoughts on the Mavericks’ offseason additions and 2024-25 outlook, in addition to discussing Brunson’s tenure in Dallas and free agency exit.
Getting closer to training camp starting
We are now less than a month away from Media Day, which will be held on Sept. 30 in Dallas before the Mavericks depart for training camp in Las Vegas.
There isn’t much that tends to happen around the NBA this time of year, but Markieff Morris is still expected to be brought back. It would require creating a roster spot, with A.J. Lawson a the clearest cut candidate to make that happen.
For more Mavs, NBA, and WNBA coverage, follow Grant Afseth on X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Be sure to subscribe on YouTube for content throughout the 2024-25 season.
Additionally, check out Grant Afseth’s basketball coverage for EssentiallySports.com.