Luka Doncic is a Slovenian basketball player who currently plays in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks.
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Facts About Luka Doncic
- Luka Doncic’s name should properly be written as Luka Dončić.
- He was born on 28th February 1999 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- He is 6′ 7″ (2.01 metres) tall.
- His father, Saša Dončić, was a Slovenian Premier A-League basketball player, and later a basketball coach. His mother Mirjam Poterbin, was a beauty salon owner.
- His parents divorced in 2008, and his mother was granted legal custody of their son.
- Luka Doncic first touched a basketball when he was just 7 months old, and by the age of one, he was playing with a miniature hoop in his bedroom.
- When he was seven years old, he played organized basketball against ten-year-olds.
- Greek basketball player Vassilis Spanoulis was one of his earliest basketball heroes. He also admired the play of LeBron James.
- At age 8, Doncic joined the Slovenian basketball team, Union Olimpija. His father played for the men’s team. Luka Doncic practiced with the under-14s team, but due to league rules, he was only allowed to take the flor in under-12 matches.
- In 2011 Luka Doncic played for the under-14s in a tournament held in Budapest, Hungary. He was named MVP (Most Valuable Player), and his team finished as runners-up to FC Barcelona.
- In 2012, he was loaned to the Real Madrid basketball team. He competed for the Spanish team in an under-14s competition, and he was again named tournament MVP.
- In the final of an under-13s competition in 2012, he posted a triple-double with 54 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
- Luka Doncic signed a 5-year contract with Real Madrid at the age of 13 in 2012.
- He moved to Madrid, and he was named MVP of the Under-16 Spanish Championship.
- By the 2014-15 season, he was playing with the Real Madridunder-18s team and the men’s reserve team.
- He made his professional debut for Real Madrid on 30th April 2015. At 16 years, 2 months, and 2 days old, he was Real Madrid’s youngest ever player, and the third-youngest player in the history of the league (behind Ricky Rubio and Angel Rebolo).
- In the 2015-16 season, Luka Doncic was a regular in the Real Madrid senior team., and in the 2016-17 season, he was named EuroLeague Rising Star, and received the ACB Best Young Player Award.
- In 2016-17, Luka Doncic became the star player of the Real Madrid team. Real Madrid won the EuroLeague finals, and Luka Doncic was named EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He was also won the EuroLeague MVP award, becoming the youngest player to do so.
- In June 2018, Luka Doncic was selected third in the NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young.
- He scored 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists in his NBA debut against the Phoenix Suns on 17th October 2018.
- In his first NBA season, Luka Donic won the Rookie of the Year Award, was voted onto the 2019 Rising Star Team, was chosen for the All-Rookie First Team, became the youngest player in NBA history to record at least three triple-doubles, and became only the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in their rookie year.
- During the 2019-20 season, Donic continued to set records. He became the Dallas Mavericks’ all-time triple-double leader, breaking the record of 21. He became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 30+ point, 20+ rebound, 10+ assist triple-double, and the second-youngest player to record a 40+ point triple-double. He was named to the All-NBA First Team, finished fourth in the MVP voting, and was an NBA All-Star starter for the first time.
- In the 2020-21 season, Luka Doncic was once again selected to the All-NBA First Team.
- Luka Doncic has represented Slovenia as both a junior and a senior player. In 2017, Slovenia won the EuroBasket tournament.
- Luka Doncic was named MVP of the 2020 FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, at the 2020 Olympic Games (where Slovenia finished in fourth place), Luka Donic was selected to the FIBa All-Satr Five team as one o the five best players at the Olympics.
- Doncic is good friends with his Slovenian teammate Goran Dragic.
- He can speak four languages – Slovenian, Serbian, English, and Spanish.
- In 2019, he signed an endorsement deal with Air Jordan.
- Luka Doncic appeared on the cover of the NBA 2K22 videogame.
- In 2021, a 2018-19 National Treasures Luka Doncic basketball card with an NBA logo game-used patch sold for $4.6 million.
- He wears number 77 on his Dallas Mavericks jersey. At Real Madrid he wor number 7.
- Luka Doncic’s godfather is Radoslav Nesterovic, a former NBA basketball player.
- Luka has several tattoos, including a tiger motif on his left forearm.
- Michael Jordan has described Luka Doncic as a ‘phenomenal player’, and Shaqille O’Neal has said he loves watching Luka play because ‘he is the true definition of a great player’.
