By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
In his first nine NBA games, Luka Doncic has been impressive for the Dallas Mavericks and has shown why he is NBA ready. As it was adapted by ‘AS.com‘, in a recent press conference, the 19-year old sensation talked about Cristiano Ronaldo, the city of Madrid, facing LeBron James and his transition to the NBA.
Luka Doncic spend six years in Madrid, Spain. His love for the city will never go away: “Playing at Madrid for Real was really special for me. It’s the best team in the world, outside of the NBA and I absolutely loved it.” As to who the fans miss more, him or Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka replied the following: “Madrid misses Cristiano more than me because he’s one of the best players in the world.”
After winning the EuroLeague’s regular season and Final Four MVP, Luka Doncic made the jump to the NBA. According to the Mavs’ rookie, however, the adjustment was not that tough: “I was 13 years old when I left Slovenia to go to Spain. It’s easier now and I already feel like Dallas is my home. I did not know when, but I knew I wanted to play in the NBA. Playing two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games per week helps us in the NBA because you adapt to playing more games per week, but I have to improve on my game because the NBA has very tactical players.” As for the differences between the EuroLeague and the NBA, Doncic identified the following: “The games are faster, but I already expected that, and it is also a bit more physical.”
Last week, Doncic faced off against his childhood idol, LeBron James, and also got a signed jersey from him after the game: “It was something wonderful and very special for me. He is my idol. It will be a day that I remember forever,” he stated.
Furthermore, Luka has also been compared with arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan as their numbers in their first ten games are similar: “He’s the best player to ever play the game of basketball, so I do not think that I can compare myself to him. He had an excellent career, he was the best,” said Doncic, remaining humble.
Finally, he also talked about the Rookie of the Year award and what it would mean to him: “Of course it would be special to win the Rookie of the Year award, but now I think more of my team goals. The first thing is that I want to reach the playoffs with the Mavs, and then the individual awards will come.”
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