Doncic, pronounced Don-cheech. And no, he doesn’t live on the second floor, upstairs from you. But I guess you probably have seen him before because right now he is the hottest thing in the NBA bubble.
At 21 years old, pundits are anointing him already as the future of the league. He is currently leading the Dallas Mavericks’ charge against the heavily favored Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
BACKGROUND. He won Rookie of the Year honors last year and in his sophomore year has already entered into the MVP conversation. He is also the youngest player to score 2,000 points in the NBA.
The son of a basketball player and a Slovenian model, Luka started playing basketball at a very early age. He was some sort of a prodigy, always playing against older players as he was too good for his peers.
It didn’t matter that everyone was bigger than him. It only made him the player that he is today—able to make deft moves, stutter steps, fakes and sudden bursts of speed.
Eventually, he had his growth spurt and became 6‘2” at the age of 12 with incredible skills at that age.
He was the youngest player to play for the Real Madrid youth squad at the age of 13. He would go on to become the youngest Euroleague MVP after leading Real Madrid to the title at the age of 18.
His idol is Lebron James and during his rookie year, even asked James for an autograph after they played. He humbly waited in the hallway just like any other fan.
But now, he is already playing at par with his idol and while many say it seems to be too soon to be anointed the next big thing, the numbers and the results don’t lie.
THE NEXT. Right now he is averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists per game in his second year. Some have taken to calling him the next Larry Bird.
In game 4 against the Clippers he turned in a monster performance, with 43 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists, and sinking that game winning shot with no time left to win the game for the Mavs, 135-133.
What made this breakout performance more impressive is that the Mavs were missing Kristaps Porzingis, their 7-foot-3 center who is the second leading scorer on the team.
As of this writing they are behind 3-2 against the Clippers but regardless of what happens in this series, Luka has clearly arrived. He might not be the future, as he just might be the present already.
The comparisons to Larry Bird are understandable. They are both tall and versatile, can shoot the ball well, and brilliant with their assists. Not only that, Bird had that attitude where he would take no B.S. from anybody and same goes for Luka.
He was trash-talking right back to the Clippers, looking irreverently at their bench after making shots and seems to belong comfortably with the current crop of stars.
And he did all that with a sprained left ankle. The comparisons to Bird are of course premature, but the talent level on this kid is off the charts.
Between him and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the one to carry the NBA as its flagship superstar post-Lebron, I’ll take Luka anytime.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my handsome and smart godchild, Ethan Siu, who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!