By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
For the second time in his career, Luka Doncic is named “Player of the Week” in Spain after an exceptional all-around output he put on the floor, leading Real Madrid to victory over Baskonia.
The Slovenian guard finished the match with 15 points (5/7 2-pointers, 1/5 from downtown, 2/3 from the line), a career-high 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals while he forced his opponents to foul him seven times.
These numbers resulted in 32 in the PIR evaluation system, more than any other this week in the Spanish League. It’s the second-best production of Doncic after the 34 he had gathered in a Real Madrid win vs Fuenlabrada back on early December. It was that match that earned him the first weekly MVP honors of his career, at only 17 years of age back then.
With Doncic leading the charge and spending more time (30 mins) on the floor than any other of his teammates, the “Blancos” became once more the standings leaders in Liga Endesa while sealing a spot in the playoffs.
“I like to play, the more minutes the better,” he said in hist post-game comments for Spanish channel Movistar. “Today I’ve had them and I’ve been very comfortable on the floor. The victory over Baskonia was very important and it keeps us high in the standings.”
There have been many songs of praise for Doncic’s maturity, on and off the floor and the Real guard once again showed that they are completely justified. This was quite the win, but his mind isn’t clouded by temporary achievements. “We haven’t done anything yet. We are first in EuroLeague and Liga Endesa but that doesn’t mean anything. We want to win.”