By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Reiterating the goal for the 2022-23 NBA season, Luka Doncic made it extremely clear on the Dallas Mavericks aiming to become NBA champions.
“Our goal every year is to win a championship,” he mentioned in a post-training interview shared by NBA TV, “That was our goal last season and that’s our goal this season. But I think we got a little more respect around the league. I think we have a great team. We just got to believe.”
Doncic, 23, is heading to his fifth campaign in the NBA. The Mavs missed the Playoffs in 2019, were eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2020 and 2021 Playoffs, and marched to the Western Conference Finals in the 2022 Playoffs, stopped by the future champions Golden State Warriors in five games.
Of course, the Slovenian superstar setting his sights on the title is not a secret. He seemed confident in being able to top the league, even without another big name on the squad. “We have great players on our team. There are plenty of very underrated guys that I think should be talked about more. So I don’t think so. I think we have a great team,” he recently told ESPN.
As a teenager, he enjoyed success at both Real Madrid and Slovenia. Capturing the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague at the club level and EuroBasket at the international level highlighted the early stages of his career, before landing in Dallas.
In a quick turnaround from 2022 EuroBasket, Doncic is now preparing for the next NBA season with the Mavericks training camp underway.
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