Slovenian wonder kid Luka Doncic has quickly made a name for himself in
the world of international basketball and with the
performances he's provided so far this season it's easy to
see why.
We first got a taste of what this young talent was capable of last year
when he debuted with Real Madrid in the Liga ACB at just 16 years of
age and became the third youngest player in history to play in the
competition.
Playing against older players has always been easy for the 18-year old,
due to his unique combination of athleticism, competitiveness and
understanding of the game. His versatility makes him incredibly
dangerous on the court, with his ability to dribble, shoot from range
and pass and shoot in tight situations.
In September he helped Slovenia win EuroBasket after defeating Serbia 93-85,
winning the country's first European Championship in the process. It
was a fantastic achievement for the side who had earlier upset
pre-tournament favourites Spain in the semifinals. Doncic's
performances during the competition earned him a place in the
All-Tournament Team.
Now he's continuing to show why there's so much hype
surrounding the forward, with some commanding displays so far this
season. Due to teammate Sergio Llull suffering an unfortunate injury
to his ACL, Doncic is now getting more minutes on the court with the
ball in his hands, and that's exactly what he needs for his career to
progress.
His form for Real Madrid has been superb recently and the side is
looking like a major threat in the Euroleague already. They are
currently among the favourites to lift the trophy with only CSKA Moscow
ranked ahead of them as favourites.
In their round four victory over Zalgiris Kaunas, Luka received his
second 'MVP of the round' award for the season after winning it the
week prior in round three. He scored a career-high 28 points and helped
the Spanish giants to remain as one of only two undefeated teams in the
competition.
It was a dominant 27 minutes spent on the floor from
the youngster, with 24 of his points coming after halftime. He also
made 9 rebounds and 4 assists, finishing with a personal index rating
of 35. He nailed 9 out of his 13 field goal attempts and completed all
6 of his free throws. It was the second time in his short career that
Luka has won back-to-back MVP honours.
One of the most astounding things about the way he is playing at the
moment is the maturity that he takes on the court. We saw glimpses of
it last year, but now at 18 he's definitely more comfortable with the
ball. He has added more scoring to his powerful rebound game and is
starting to develop into a player with very few weaknesses.
It's an exciting time to be a basketball fan and watch as this amazing
talent looks to take over Europe. With the way he's picking up awards
so early in the season, it's hard for the world not to sit up and take
notice.
