Luka Doncic: 5 Lesser known facts about the European rookie sensation

Luka Doncic is a Slovenian basketball player who just might set the NBA on fire in the upcoming season. The 19-year-old has already been filling up the stat sheet in Liga ACB and EuroLeague for Real Madrid.

He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and traded to the Dallas Mavericks as the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft.

Doncic will enter the NBA at 19 years old, the same age as the majority of freshman prospects declaring for the draft. The major difference is that Doncic already has three years of professional basketball experience. Basically, he’s always been a step ahead of his age group and dominated the European basketball landscape last season as a mere teenager.

College prospects are often more exciting to fans because they are more familiar, but the competition Doncic consistently faced in Europe is more difficult than any American player has faced coming into the draft.

His NBA profile reads: "Luka Doncic is a skilled playmaker with a mature game beyond his years coming off one of the best seasons any teenager has ever had in the best professional league outside of the NBA."

About his playmaking abilities, it states: "Not the most explosive or shifty athlete, but fluid and crafty getting to spots with the potential to become more dynamic as his body improve."

Real Madrid’s teenage sensation is by all accounts the best European prospect in years.

So let's get to know the dynamic 6'8 prospect that has the NBA universe drooling.

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#1 Originally Slovenian, Doncic moved to Spain after receiving an offer from Real Madrid at 13

Doncic had already made a name for himself as a teenager.

Luka Doncic represented the Slovenian club, Union Olimpija, at the under-14 Vasas Intesa Sanpaolo Cup in Budapest where he emerged Most Valuable Player (MVP), despite finishing as runners-up to FC Barcelona. For his dominant and impressive performance, he got the front office of Real Madrid interested in him.

According to SLAM, Doncic received an offer at 13 to play for Real Madrid. After much deliberation, he took the risk and moved to Spain. He signed a deal with the Spanish club and played for the under-16 team in the Minicopa Endesa, an under-14 Spanish club competition.

“Not just once [thought about going back],” Doncic told SLAM. “All my friends, school, family—everything was in Slovenia, but after I learned Spanish it was easier to communicate, to make new friends.”

#2 Doncic was the youngest player ever to play for Real Madrid at 16

Doncic is the third youngest ever to make his debut at Liga ACB.

On April 30, 2015, Doncic became the youngest player to debut with Real Madrid in the Liga ACB (the top-tier Spanish League), at the age of 16 years and 61 days.

Behind Ricky Rubio (who was 14 years and 11 months of age when he debuted), and Ángel Rebolo (who was 15 years and 3 months of age when he debuted), Luka was the third youngest ever to make his debut.

Doncic became a part of the main 12-man roster of Real Madrid in every competition, including the 2015-16 ACB season (being the youngest player in the league) and the EuroLeague 2015-16 season.

Since his debut, he has been improving every season and in the process, has doubled his scoring from the previous season to this year. He averages 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists for Real Madrid in 2018.

#3 Doncic’s mother is a former model and dancer

Luca Doncic with his mom Mirjam Poterbin

Moments after Doncic was taken with the third pick (his rights were dealt to Dallas by Atlanta for Trae Young and a future 1st-round pick), Iguodala hit send on this not-so-subtle tweet saying, "Mom's decent".

Luka Doncic considered one of the best prospects to come out of Europe and all anyone can talk about is his mum. According to SLAM, his mother was a former hurdler and dancer, while his father played pro basketball in Europe.

Poterbin believes that what makes her son a special player is his ability to stay present in the moment, and put all his efforts into the current game.

"He is very mature because of his life — to go away so early,” Poterbin explains. “But when he’s at home, he’s a teenager.”

Doncic and his mother live in a gated community in Madrid. In addition to her experience playing sports, Poterbin was also a model and now runs a beauty shop.

#4 Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic made a EuroBasket Quarterfinal game must-See TV

Doncic Helped Slovenia Defeat Kristaps Porzingis and Latvia in the 2017 EuroBasket Tournament

In the 2017 EuroBasket quarterfinals, Slovenia and Latvia played a delightful offensive-minded game. And after the best game of this Eurobasket, Slovenia pulled away in the final minute for a 103-97 victory. The two teams combined for 200 points, rarely seen in FIBA games that last 40 minutes.

Luka Doncic had a solid 27 points and 9 rebounds while his teammate Goran Dragic ended the game with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Kristaps Porzingis paced Latvia with 34 points, but the showstopper of the game and for Slovenia was Luka Doncic, though. It further solidified Doncic's 2018 NBA draft bid and many started projecting him as a top three pick.

"That's why he's the best at his age," Dragic said after the game, "probably from 18 to 25. He's only 18 years old and he's playing with such a calmness. People back home, they're really happy that we've got him."

This game was just another stepping stone in Slovenia's tournament winning campaign as they beat Serbia 93-85 in the Finals.

#5 His never-ending list of achievements

Luka Doncic with the Euro League MVP award at age 19

Luka Doncic is arguably the most proven prospect to ever have his name called in the NBA Draft.

The 19-year-old Slovenian was named the Finals MVP as Real Madrid’s best player and MVP of EuroLeague ahead of winning the championship. Then, he won a Liga ACB title. He’s been playing against full-grown adults in the most competitive leagues outside of the NBA for three seasons.

In 70 games this year in EuroLeague and Liga ACB, Doncic averaged 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists as the go-to man of the veteran team.

Last summer, he contributed heavily towards Slovenia's EuroBasket championship-winning campaign, making the all-tournament team at the age of 18. This season he won EuroLeague Final Four MVP, EuroLeague MVP, EuroLeague Player of the Week four times, EuroLeague Player of the Month once, first-team All-League, and the EuroLeague Rising Star award as he led his team to a championship.