{"id":159609,"date":"2025-09-19T17:03:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T21:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=159609"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:03:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T21:03:44","slug":"luka-doncic-real-madrid-dream-retirement-scenario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/19\/luka-doncic-real-madrid-dream-retirement-scenario\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka Doncic Reveals Dream Retirement Scenario"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Lakers star <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> comes off a dominant EuroBasket campaign, new comments suggest he could return to other international roots once his time in the league is over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luka Doncic Reveals Dream Retirement Scenario<\/b><\/h2>\n

Doncic Would \u201cFor Sure\u201d Consider Real Madrid Return<\/b><\/h3>\n

Doncic touched on a wide range of topics in a <\/span>Sept. 16 interview<\/span><\/a> with Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal. However, one anecdote toward the end may have international basketball fans buzzing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Doncic doesn\u2019t see himself playing until 41 like <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a>, he does envision a storybook ending to his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Doncic does leave the door open to a sentimental possibility. I ask him if he\u2019d consider playing for Real Madrid toward the end of his career, returning to where it all started. At first he demurs, saying he doesn\u2019t know if he\u2019d still have the physical tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo play with Real Madrid, you have to be so good,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the idea of finishing up there\u2014a storyline the NBA, currently assembling a European league of its own, might love\u2014does that have emotional appeal?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018For sure,\u2019 Luka says. \u2018They raised me.\u2019<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Doncic joined Real Madrid at 13 years old<\/span><\/a> and spent six seasons with the club, joining the senior team at 16. He <\/span>won a EuroLeague championship<\/span><\/a> when he was 18, along with MVP and Final Four MVP honors\u2014a storied history that paved the way toward his NBA career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other International Players Have Done the Same<\/b><\/h3>\n

Doncic is far from alone in desiring a return to Real Madrid, as other international players made similar moves over the years. While he and over a dozen Real Madrid players <\/span>made the jump to the NBA<\/span><\/a>, some have returned to the team after their time in the league was up\u2014namely <\/span>Facundo Campazzo<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Gabriel Deck<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Usman Garuba<\/span><\/a>, who did so in the last few years,<\/span><\/p>\n

The club has also been <\/span>no stranger to NBA star power<\/span><\/a>, featuring Hall of Famers <\/span>Arvydas Sabonis<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Drazen Petrovic<\/span><\/a>, among others. While Doncic\u2019s goal is at least a decade away, it\u2019s a laudable move for a superstar who\u2019s savored the international spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Now, Doncic Has One Goal in Mind<\/b><\/h3>\n

Before Luka can even think of representing Real Madrid again, he has his eyes on the prize when it comes to his NBA journey. According to <\/span>ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin<\/span><\/a>, Doncic has constantly reminded the Lakers of his championship goals, with a source close to him adding: <\/span>“He trusts the front office to do their part, and he trusts what they’re building.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Apr
Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That same level of commitment has been matched by Lakers President and General Manager Rob Pelinka, as he and other team executives determine the best path forward in the Doncic-James era.<\/span><\/p>\n

“If there are smart ways to pour into our championship aspirations for next year, we will execute on those,” Pelinka told ESPN. “And we see having those two players on our team next year [as] an important moment, and we’ll continue to try to do all we can to deliver this franchise its 18th championship.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Lakers star Luka Doncic comes off a dominant EuroBasket campaign, new comments suggest he could return to other international roots once his time in the league is over. Luka Doncic Reveals Dream Retirement Scenario Doncic Would \u201cFor Sure\u201d Consider Real Madrid Return Doncic touched on a wide range of topics in a Sept. 16 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":159612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[2075,1625,2906,38,1133,1134,4232],"class_list":["post-159609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-arvydas-sabonis","tag-drazen-petrovic","tag-facundo-campazzo","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-real-madrid","tag-usman-garuba"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159609"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159615,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159609\/revisions\/159615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}