Precocious star at Real Madrid, Luka Doncic broke records in Europe and builds his career towards the Basketball Hall of Fame with the Dallas Mavericks
There are those who say that the NBA is currently being dominated by European players or players who were not born in the U.S. For example, the last six awards of MVP of the league were handed over twice to the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018/19 and 2019/20), three times for the Serbian Nikola Jokic (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2023/24) and once Cameroonian with French citizenship Joel Embiid (2022/23).
Furthermore, the three players who were finalists for the award in the current season were born outside the United States: Jokic (Serbia/ Denver Nuggets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada/ Oklahoma City Thunder) It is Luka Doncic (Slovenia/ Dallas Mavericks).
As much as Jokic has achieved in this edition of the league, Luka has been growing more and more within the NBA since he arrived and deserving year after year of being in the conversation of the best of the season. He learns a little about the history of the famous “Slovenian treasure”.
Who is Luka Doncic
Born on February 28, 1999, in the city of Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, Luka Doncic has already shone with the orange ball since he was little. Known in Europe as the wonder-boy of the Madrid club, he began his career at Olimpija Ljubljana.
At the age of 13, he won the award for best player in the Lido Tournamentin Pomegranate. In the semifinal, the point guard scored 41 points. In the final, Doncic had a triple-double, with 54 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Because of this, the young athlete reached the Real Madrid at the age of 13 and made a lot of history there.
His professional debut came at just 16 years and two months, becoming the youngest athlete to play for the Merengue main team. At just 19 years old, he became the best player in Europe, winning the regular season and season MVP awards. Final Four from the Euroleague, in 2018, won by Real Madrid. There, he was also three-time Spanish champion (2014/15, 2015/16 and 2017/18).
Luka Doncic’s highlights with Real Madrid 🔥
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) August 25, 2022
With the Slovenian national team, he was already European champion in 2017, aged just 18, when, alongside Goran Dragicled his country’s national team to the unprecedented and undefeated title of EuroBasket. In the final against Serbia, won 93-85, he had to leave the court after injuring his ankle, but was carried by his teammates in celebrating the trophy. After all that, he caught the attention of the best basketball player in the world.
Dallas Mavericks hope after Dirk Nowitzki
Luka was drafted in 2018 by Atlanta Hawks in the third overall pick, but ended up being traded to the Dallas Mavericks and arrived at the Texas franchise with a lot of responsibility. The Slovenian shared the court with the team’s great idol, the German Dirk Nowitzki, who was already at the end of his career. With the weight of being the team’s next great leader to a title, Doncic has been giving it his all.
In his first year in the league, he finished averaging more than 20 points per game, five assists per game and five rebounds per game. Only four other players have done this: Oscar Robertson (1960–61), Michael Jordan (1984–85), LeBron James (2003–04) and Tyreke Evans (2009–10).
In the same season, he scored eight triple-doubles and became the youngest person to achieve the feat so many times. Because of this, he received the award for Rookie of the Yearestablishing himself as the second European to win the trophy, alongside Pau Gasol (2002).
With records after records, Luka is increasingly consolidating his career within the NBA. Since he entered the league, he has been trying to lead the Mavericks to glory again, but every year he runs into some snag. In the current season, he advanced to the Western Conference final, against Minnesota Timberwolves.
Luka Doncic titles and trophies
- EuroBasket champion for Slovenia in 2017
- Euroleague champion with Real Madrid in 2018
- Three-time champion of the ABC League (Spanish Championship) with Real Madrid, in 2015, 2016 and 2018
- FIBA Intercontinental Tournament Champion with Real Madrid in 2015
- All-Star in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023
- All-NBA team in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023
- 2019 NBA Rookie
- Named to the 2019 NBA All-Rookie Team
- Euroleague MVP in 2018
- 2018 Euroleague Final Four MVP
- Elected to the 2018 Euroleague ideal team
- Liga ACB MVP in 2018
- Best young player in Liga ACB in 2017 and 2018
Luka Doncic records
- Youngest player to defend Real Madrid in history, aged 16 years and 2 months
- Youngest MVP in Euroleague history
- Youngest player in Dallas Mavericks history to score 20 points in a game
- Youngest player to make 7 three-pointers in an NBA game
- Youngest player in NBA history to record three triple-doubles
- Youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with 35 or more points
- Second player under 21 to record a triple-double with 40 points in the NBA (the other was LeBron James)
- Fifth player in NBA history to average a triple-double with more than 30 points over a 10-game streak
- NBA: Kyrie Irving praises partnership with Luka Doncic: “At the end of the game…”
Fun facts you didn’t know about Luka Doncic
Passion for football
Luka played football and other sports when he was younger, but started focusing on basketball when he got older. According to his mother, Doncic competed in children’s football for four years, was a striker and strong on aerial balls. Since he was a child, his favorite team has been Red Star Belgrade, from Belgrade, capital of Serbia, on behalf of his father, a Slovenian of Serbian descent. But then he ended up adopting Real Madrid.
Basketball idol and the reason behind the number 7
Doncic always wore number 7 throughout his career and ended up wearing number 77 with the Mavericks, bringing it to the Slovenian national team as well. This is because in both places, the number 7 shirt was already being worn when he arrived: for Klemen Prepelic in Slovenia and Dwight Powell in Dallas.
77 was chosen because it is a derivation of his favorite number, which has a specific explanation: it is the shirt worn by Vassilis Spanoulis, Doncic’s basketball idol. The Greek is one of the main players of his generation in Europe, even playing for Houston Rockets (2006/07). He was a three-time Euroleague champion and the competition’s MVP in 2013, as well as a three-time Final Four MVP.
Relationship with Goran Dragic
Largely responsible for Slovenia’s EuroBasket title, the relationship between Doncic and Dragic goes back before that. Luka’s father, Sasa Donciceven played with Dragic in the now defunct KK Olimpijaclub from the country’s capital, being champions in 2007 and 2008 of the Slovenian league.
Source: sportbuzz
My name is Adam Jackson and I am an author. I have been writing about Basketball games for over a decade now and am excited to share my knowledge with you all. Additionally, I am also interested in other sports and enjoy discussing them with others. Contact me if you want to discuss any Basketball-related topics!
