NBA Draft 2018: Here’s What You Need To Know About Luka Doncic

Quick Facts

The 2018 NBA Draft which held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on the 21st of June 2018 saw Luka Doncic making the headlines after the event.

As tradition demands, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams take turns to pick the next stars of the game from amateur U.S college and international players. The epoch event will probably form the talking point of the sports in years to come when these amateurs fully evolve to occupy the territory and records once held by the likes of , , , , and to mention just a few.

The draft was a formal ground for the name Luka Doncic to come to the knowledge of many people for the first time. Here we are going to tell you all you need to know about him and what really makes him special.

Here’s What You Need To Know About Luka Doncic

Early Beginning

Luka Doncic was described by as the ‘most polished European teen prospect ever’, while the  called him the ‘international man of mystery’. Indeed when one is good at what one does, we shouldn’t expect anything less.

Luka who is now a professional basketball player was born on February 28, 1999, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to his parents, Mirjam Poterbin (mother), a former hurdler, model, and dancer, and Saša Dončić (father), a former basketball player and now coach.

It is said that Luka Doncic first touched a basketball at 7 months old and by his first birthday he was already playing with a miniature hoop his parents installed in his room. What a way to make a star!

Basketball, therefore, became natural to him and by the age of 7, he had begun playing structured basketball at his primary school in Ljubljana with kids older than him. This had him training more and thinking faster so he could make up with skills what he lacked in size.

Youth Career

He began his youth career playing in Slovenian club, Union Olimpija often with kids a few years older than him as his skills matched theirs. In September 2011, Luka Doncic represented Union Olimpija at the under-14 Vasas Intesa Sanpaolo Cup in Budapest where he emerged Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the competition despite his team finishing as runners-up to FC Barcelona. For his impressive performance, he got folks from Real Madrid interested in him and this would see him go over to the Spanish side on loan.

Real Madrid

The youngster got off to an impressive start at his new club and it was there he further developed his game having signed a 5-year contract with them at the age of 13 in September 2012. With the Madrid youth team, he won for himself the following trophies and awards: Under–14 Ciutat de l’Hospitalet Tournament: Championship, 14 Minicopa ACB of Vitoria-Gasteiz: Winner both in 2013, 18 Madrid Junior Championship: Champion in 2014, 18 Ciutat De L’Hospitalet Tournament (ANGT): Champion and Under–18 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament: Champion in 2015.

At the senior level with Real Madrid, he got for himself EuroLeague Champion: 2017–18, Liga ACB (Spanish League) Champion: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, Copa Del Rey (Spanish King’s Cup) Winner: 2016, 2017 and FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion: 2015.

International

On the national side, Luka Doncic hasn’t performed short of expectation as he has won with the Slovenian National Basketball team Gold in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 and also FIBA EuroBasket All-Tournament Team: 2017.

Showing such talents and impressive youth record that only the big names in the sports have been identified with, it won’t be surprising if we see Luka Doncic breaking and setting new records in the near future.

On the 21st of June 2018, history was made when Luka Doncic was selected as the 3rd overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA draft. The Hawks then traded him to the Dallas Mavericks to have 5th overall pick Trae Young in addition to securing a future 1st round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Other Facts About The Young Basketballer

• Jersey Number – Luka Doncic wore jersey number 7 in Real Madrid, in his new team, he is rumored to wear number 77. No explanation has been given for this though.
• Youth Accomplishments – Luka is the youngest recipient of the EuroLeague MVP and EuroLeague Final Four MVP awards.
• Height and Weight– the young lad has his height listed to be between 6 feet 7 inches and 6 feet 9 inches. The exact figure is not yet known. His weight is 230 lbs.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.