The Wonder Boy

Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness

By: Tim MacMahon

Narrated by: Tim MacMahon, Charles Constant

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon goes behind the scenes of Luka Dončić’s years with the Dallas Mavericks—before his trade to the Lakers stunned the basketball world—telling the story of a franchise’s quest to build a championship team around a prodigy.

In 2018, the Dallas Mavericks landed the most hyped prospect in basketball history—teenaged Luka Dončić. With The Wonder Boy, MacMahon takes us beyond the highlights to the madness that ensues as the Mavericks try to avoid blowing their golden opportunity. From the internal power struggles in owner Mark Cuban’s front office during the early years of Dončić’s career, to the new regime’s effort to earn Dončić’s loyalty and put the ruthless competitor in position to win, readers will learn never-before-reported details about the saga’s biggest moments, including:

• The blockbuster deal for Kristaps Porzingis that blew up in the Mavs’ faces
• The divorces with coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson
• Jalen Brunson’s exit after a run to the Western Conference finals
• The new pairing with the mercurial Kyrie Irving
• The improbable journey to the 2024 Finals

The Wonder Boy pulls back the curtain on on the Mavs’ quest to win it all with their irreplaceable young star, a dilemma every NBA team would love to have.

Critic reviews

"From Doncic's childhood through the Mavericks run to the 2024 NBA Finals, MacMahon unearths fascinating new details about Doncic's unlikely path to Dallas and the challenges of building around a generational superstar. This is a true insider account—a must-have for any basketball fan."
—Zach Lowe, NBA analyst and host of the “Lowe Post” podcast

Everything

I liked how soothing the story was because it was about basketball I listened to it when I went to sleep

Exceptional attention to detail both on and off the court.

What captivated me about this book was its detailed unraveling of the Mavericks organization’s journey, both on and off the court. The author expertly weaves the timeline together, using creative storytelling techniques that really bring the events to life.

Terrific Sports Book Read From Tim MacMahon

I enjoy Tim MacMahon’s sports coverage and his commentary, and his book covering the story arc between the Dallas Mavericks organization, Luka Dončić, and the sequence of events that up to the infamous trade that took place February 2025 certainly doesn’t disappoint, all making for a great read/listen. MacMahon’s thorough and extensive reporting on Dončić’s life, his upbringing and all that made him to become the superstar the world knows him as is is excellent, while the other side covering how the Mavericks franchise changed under Cuban’s ownership and their success (and failures) during former superstar Dirk Nowitzki’s career is all covered with thorough, painstaking detail. If you enjoy basketball history, the NBA or the Mavericks (and for the last one it’s painful I’m sure) this is well worth your time. I also think as time passes and there will be a new generation of fans of the NBA, the Mavericks or Luka Dončić they will be curious about the events that led him to purple and gold/the Lakers, and this will book be the most definitive (and highly entertaining) answer to said question(s). SPOILER: If you’re looking for anything new to the story arc leading to Dončić’s unceremonious trade out of Dallas you won’t find anything here. That being said perhaps there’s probably nothing else to the infamous trade that’s being omitted by MacMahon to cover, but the flawed logic by then Mavericks GM Nico Harrison is still perplexing and personally I had just hoped there’d be more clarity behind Harrison’s thinking and/or why the organization allowed such a FUBAR of a trade. While MacMahon provides an interesting, chronological sequence of events of how and when Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka met to make the infamous trade happen, nothing else here is really new information. If you’re hoping to find more answers than what was told at the time of the trade or why it had happened there’s nothing new here. This was my biggest quibble with the book and why I gave it a 4/5 rating but really that’s not MacMahon’s fault, but I digress.

Insightful and Engaging

As a former Mavs fan it was a tough read emotionally, but it was very insightful as to how we got here. Thankful to be able to relive the good times through the storytelling. I’ll read it again in the future.

Howdy partners!

Big Tim coming through big. Loved the storytelling. We def need a follow up. Adios amigos.