‘I think it’s great for the game’: Earlier start time allows Europeans to more easily watch Utah Jazz-Dallas Mavericks showdown

SALT LAKE CITY — Before the Utah Jazz took on the Dallas Mavericks Saturday afternoon at Vivint Arena, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was asked if having a European superstar in the NBA like the Mavericks’ 20-year-old Luka Doncic was inevitable because of the growth of the game in the continent.

Snyder didn’t want to diminish the impact Doncic has already had on the league through less than two seasons (he entered Saturday nearly averaging a triple-double at 29.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and nine assists per game), but joked, “They had one on Dallas’ team a few years ago,” referring to surefire future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

The coach, who spent the 2012-2013 season as an assistant at Russian power CSKA Moscow, went on to say that at this point, basketball has grown in Europe such that in his eyes, it’s becoming less notable when a player from there succeeds in the NBA.

“It’s about what guys do in the league,” he said. “That’s the story to me, is what a great player he is in this league at a really young age.” 

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Those comments served as a backdrop for a game Saturday that was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. as part of the NBA’s efforts to make games more accessible to fans in Europe. 

In addition to Doncic (from Slovenia), Saturday’s showdown featured five other Europeans. Dallas’ second star, Kristaps Porzingis, is from Latvia, Maxi Kleber is from Germany (incidentally, the same small town as Nowitzki) and Boban Marjanovic from Serbia. Utah big man Rudy Gobert is from France and forward Bojan Bogdanovic is from Croatia.

After carrying the Jazz to the 112-107 win Saturday, Gobert noted in his TV walkoff interview that his whole family was watching the game in France, which is eight hours ahead of Mountain Time, meaning the contest started at 9 p.m. in his home country, whereas most Utah home games begin at 3 a.m. there.

“Means a lot,” he said in the locker room of the game starting at a time so more of his family could watch. “I think it’s great for the game. We’ve got so many kids and also adults that love the game of basketball in Europe that are not able to watch the games at 3 a.m. My family and a lot of my friends were able to watch it.”

Added Bogdanovic: “Today was like a primetime game for Europe. I’m sure that I had family and friends watching over there.”

Gobert was the hero down the stretch for the Jazz and finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and two assists, while Doncic tied Utah guard Donovan Mitchell with a game-high 25 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Bogdanovic scored eight of his 23 points during a decisive fourth-quarter stretch, Porzingis finished with 15, Kleber scored eight and Marjanovic two.