This NBA star says Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was ‘like a superhero’

The Dallas Mavericks will not be playing on Dr. Martin Luther King Day this season.

However, the Monday holiday for the slain civil rights leader isn’t lost on Mavericks’ superstar rookie Dennis Smith Jr.

“Martin Luther King is like a superhero,” Smith said after the Mavericks’ 107-101 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday at the American Airlines Center. “Without him I wouldn’t be able to sit right here and give you this interview or even be in this league and put my family in the position that they are in now. He’s done a lot, I don’t think that all his accomplishments can ever fully be appreciated.

“He died; He died for this moment right here for a lot of guys to be in unity. The world isn’t perfect yet, probably never will, but if he was here today I’m sure he’d be happy with the strides that we made.”

The NBA has long treated MLK Day as a special day in the league along with Christmas. There are 11 games on the schedule and they’ll be played all day, beginning with Charlotte vs. Detroit at 11:30 a.m. and ending with the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers at 9:30 p.m.

The teams have been wearing shirts with “I have a dream” written on the front during warmups to honor King.

The Mavericks return to action on Tuesday against Denver.

This story was originally published January 14, 2018 at 2:36 PM with the headline "This NBA star says Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was ‘like a superhero’."