By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Andres Nocioni was Luka Doncic’s teammate back when the Dallas Mavericks star made his beginnings with the professional team of Real Madrid. He was actually present on the court, when the Slovenian player debuted in a pro game back on April 30, 2015.
In light of this five-year anniversary, Nocioni, who retired in 2017 as a EuroLeague and ACB champion with Real Madrid, talked about Doncic’s rapid growth from a youngster to becoming an NBA All-Star.
Here’s what Nocioni said to Basquet Plus:
“What Luka has achieves in these five years is something historic, something that will remain in everyone’s memory for many years because at his young age, he’s been EuroLeague MVP, EuroLeague Final Four MVP and is becoming an NBA superstar at a young age.
At 21, he already seems mature, leaving the impression that he dominates the game in the NBA, the same way he did when left Real Madrid, when he was dominating the game in Europe. That’s not something that is seen every day.
The most important thing Luka has achieved in these five years, is going from being a promise to a reality. Very fast. The truth is that the way in which he achieved this in five years is crazy.”
He went from starting to rub shoulders with veterans, to dominating the NBA in numbers. For now, it doesn’t happen in results but it does in statistics. I think it’s one of the most explo9sive and extraordinary appearances of FIBA basketball in its entire history.”