{"id":8694,"date":"2017-07-25T18:11:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T22:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=8694"},"modified":"2017-07-25T18:16:45","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T22:16:45","slug":"luka-doncic-the-slovenian-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/07\/25\/luka-doncic-the-slovenian-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka Don\u010di\u0107: The Slovenian Star Set to Take the NBA by Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the NBA evolves, the league has become more diverse. With more International players in the Association than ever before, their impact is becoming greater by the year. Future Hall-of-Famers <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nowitdi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dirk Nowitzki<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/ginobma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manu Ginobili<\/a><\/strong> have made a huge impact, both on and off the court. From signature moves to the growth of the game, International players have no doubt made the game better. Just this year, two International players were drafted in the top-10 of the NBA draft. Now, with so much talent coming from abroad, sooner or later the world will produce another superstar. Could that player be from Central Europe? Slovenia might be known for Mountains and Ski resorts, but maybe not for much longer. The name <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.draftexpress.com\/profile\/Luka-Doncic-7273\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107<\/a><\/strong> is one to be remembered, and for good reason.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Luka Don\u010di\u0107: The Slovenian Star Set to Take the NBA by Storm<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Who is Luka Don\u010di\u0107?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u010di\u0107, 18, has played for Spanish club Real Madrid since 2015. Playing in arguably the world&#8217;s second best league, he&#8217;s relatively experienced for an 18-year-old. Capable of playing either as a point guard or shooting guard,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 is an all round talent. Standing at 6&#8217;8&#8221;, he is a long, lengthy guard who is listed as a two-guard but can create like a point guard. The Slovenian guard has been playing with grown men since the age of 16, something very few draft prospects can brag. 2017 was a great year for him, winning four awards in the process.\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 is more than ready for next year&#8217;s draft, as he looks set to take the league by storm.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EuroLeague Weekly: Focus on Luka Doncic, Real Madrid\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zru9194gWXg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What makes the Slovenian Sensation so good?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u010di\u0107 isn&#8217;t like most European prospects. Most prospects play minor, reduced roles for their clubs,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 is the exact opposite. Already one of Real Madrid&#8217;s best players, to achieve\u00a0what he has achieved at just 18 is quite incredible. Averaging 7.8 points, 4.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds, he has been a consistent contributor in 2017. Playing over 100 games in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 has bags of experience at such a young age.<\/p>\n<p>College Basketball isn&#8217;t Spanish &amp; EuroLeague Basketball, in terms of quality. Playing in both since the age of 16,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 has displayed his ability on Europe&#8217;s biggest stage. The best way to sum up\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 is this, he has the height of a small forward, the body of a shooting guard and the mind of a point guard. The Don is on his way, so watch out.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Competition for the First Overall Pick<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Every year, there is a race to be the first overall pick. This year it was <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/fultzma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Markelle Fultz<\/a><\/strong> versus <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/balllo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lonzo Ball<\/a><\/strong>. Seeing as we are just under a year away from the 2018\u00a0draft, it&#8217;s difficult to make predictions. At this point in time, Missouri forward Michael Porter is leading the way in most <a href=\"http:\/\/www.draftexpress.com\/nba-mock-draft\/2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mock drafts<\/a>. Expect\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 to be in the mix for the number one pick, however, with most GM&#8217;s more comfortable taking a college star, Porter and others have the advantage.\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 should still go top five, with his talent speaking for itself.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Michael Porter Jr vs Luka Doncic vs Deandre Ayton, BEST PROSPECTS IN THE 2018 NBA Draft, #1 Pick\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6-N9DgmJJNw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><b>Limitless Potential\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Capable of shooting, driving to the rim and creating for players around him, Don\u010di\u0107 has the potential to run a team. With raw athleticism his only real weakness, he should make an immediate impact at the NBA level. When it comes to\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107, there is no reason to hold back so here it is. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 can be a superstar at the next level, it&#8217;s that simple. He is the most convincing prospect heading into next year&#8217;s draft and that won&#8217;t change, even if Porter dominates at Mizzou.<\/p>\n<p>Born in\u00a0Ljubljana, Slovenia,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 won&#8217;t be the first Slovenian player in the NBA. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dragigo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Goran Dragic<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vujacsa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sasha Vujacic<\/a> <\/strong>and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/u\/udrihbe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Beno Udrih<\/a><\/strong> have all played in the league, with\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 on the way. One thing Dragic and\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 have in common is they share the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.draftexpress.com\/agents\/Bill-Duffy-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">same agent<\/a>.\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 has limitless potential, whereas his fellow countryman Dragic has already peaked. Currently holding the crown of Slovenia&#8217;s best player, Dragic should make the most of it, because\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 is coming for his crown.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/666118940\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.498316% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/666118940?et=8DpuEa5SRJJIpNneFIUCOg&amp;tld=com&amp;viewMoreLink=on&amp;sig=xe8RIHsbnRriYQFO2DquVXsfEVFA-7n-N_Vrm0FGXS8=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"395\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Slovenian guard Luka Don\u010di\u0107 is Europe&#8217;s highest rated prospect. Here we take a look at the teenage sensation, breaking down his potential at the next level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":638,"featured_media":8712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_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":[556,2,62],"tags":[801,65,1133,96,1134],"class_list":["post-8694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba-draft","category-featured","category-nba","tag-2018-nba-draft","tag-basketball","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba","tag-real-madrid"],"modified_by":"Harrison Marcus","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8694","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\/638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}