How a 13 Year Old DOMINATED the NBA in Just 10 Years

look i don't blame people for not giving luka a chance to make the conference finals luca was a huge underdog but that's not new he faced so much adversity before the nba but people discount it because oh but it was in europe how cute reminds me of what they said before he was drafted i don't believe he's a lottery pick not a lottery no i don't know that opinion is legit bias against european players luca's career before the league was a lot tougher than people think he overcame a ton on and off the court that people don't talk about his mom miriam was a model obviously who married a pro basketball player named sasha in slovenia luca literally had the genetics of a pro basketball player and a personal coach from birth he played all sports but focused on basketball because he was so damn talented his only real issue though was his dad's personal life sasha was also a huge basketball talent but he didn't have the work ethic that luca developed after games he would go out drinking and partying which created problems in his marriage miriam divorced sasha when luka was just eight years old and that haunted him later in life we'll get to that in a bit but as a nine-year-old luke was already playing with kids three and four years older at night he would mop the court for his dad's pro team who had a young point guard named goran dragach it is so crazy that 11 years later goran and luca led slovenia to a euro basket championship but at the time luca was still making his name as a youth player his big break came at 13 years old at an international tournament in italy luca led his club to a quarterfinal win with 29 points and 15 boards then 29 more points in the semis and in the final 54 points for a championship his team still shows that film to their young players i'm sure that makes them feel great about themselves but every club in europe wanted to sign luca however real madrid is not every club they are the second best team in the second best league in the world luca did not want to leave his family and his friends and his school at 13 years old but how do you turn down that opportunity after six months of literally saying no he finally said yes and went to live in madrid by himself his mom visited as often as she could but she cried on the flight home every time luca had no friends he knew zero spanish but he was fluent in basketball real madrid also had him play with older kids and by 16 he led them to the u18 european championship with an assist at the buzzer there was nothing more for him to prove in youth basketball so madrid called him up to the legit pros on april 30th 2015 luca became the youngest player in madrid history at 16 years two months and two days old he immediately came in and in 16 seconds hit a three and ran back on defense luca was a child sharing the locker room with a bunch of big hairy 30 year olds he even got in a playoff game that season but became a legit rotation player the next year in his first elimination game lucas scored at nine points in 19 minutes off the bench a 16 year old was key on their road to beating barcelona to win the chip by 2017 there was no doubt luca was a generational talent with 23 points and 11 assists a game that is a huge number in european basketball luca recently said on jj redick's podcast it is 100 easier to score 30 in the nba than it is in europe the rules are more geared for defense they play more team basketball the offense doesn't just run through like one or two guys and they play 40 minute games 23 and 11 is insane in the playoffs luke was named the youngest mvp of round one he wanted to get in round two then again to send madrid to the final four at 17 years old luca already starred in a dozen big playoff games against people older and more experienced beating cp3 in the suns was not a fluke it's what he's used to so 16 year old luca turned pro because there was nothing left to prove in youth basketball 19 year old luca went to the nba because there was nothing left to prove in europe madrid star veteran sergio yule tours acl to start the 2018 season so luca became their go-to player he set career highs every other week and he even had a triple double look i know that doesn't sound like a big deal europe is different okay it was real madrid's first triple-double since 2007 it was the seventh triple-double in league history they should see russell westbrook but madrid needed luca to be a star because they had a ton of injuries and there were huge underdogs in the euro league playoffs luca led madrid with 17 points in a close-out game to reach the final four again this was an nba level atmosphere with million dollar athletes in packed loud arenas other teenagers are playing in the college final four luca was competing against grown men he barely went to the bench and led his team with 16 points and seven boards against the number one seed his biggest moment though back to back dagger threes in the fourth quarter madrid faced the defending champs in the final and luca won final four mvp he was the best player on the biggest stage in europe so when people are surprised on tv right now that he led dallas past the suns he already did this at 19 years old and look i know that euroleague is not the nba but consider this luca won mvp that year with the highest advanced stats ever so by some metrics he was the best european mvp of all time on the biggest stage that they have 32 days later he was drafted by the hawks and then traded to the mavericks but his dad sasha was not there instead he wrote an open letter to his son on the internet quote what does it mean to be a good father now i am sure that i have the answer to this question i was never perfect luca my son could you live without your child could you see your child walk away from you so he could start a new life away from you do you remember luca you were only 13 when real madrid visited slovenia to take you to their team that was far away from us it really hurt me but i was also extremely touched and excited i would never allow myself to let you miss out on such a great opportunity this might mean being a good father luca okay now look we don't know the exact reason for luca's cold relationship with his dad but honestly it's really none of our business what we do know is he has dealt with a lot of pressure on and off the court so when everyone is talking about how good he is at just 23 years old remember he has been overcoming big moments his entire life now i'm not saying that luca duncic is the perfect player in the nba uh he has some things to get over before i think he can finally win a championship and win an mvp but he is one of the best young players if not the best young player that we have in the league very close to him though is john morant and because jaw has already gone out of the playoffs i made an entire video about the big issue with jaw because until he overcomes these i don't think he can take that next step check the whole video out right here you

Channel: A.M. Hoops

Views: 309,907

Keywords: Luka doncic, luka doncic real madrid, luka game 7, luka devin booker, luka doncic devin booker, luka doncic mvp, mavericks suns, mavericks warriors, luka boban, sasa doncic, luka dad, luka before the nba, luka euroleague, luka draft, luka stepback, luka lebron james, nba, nba playoffs

Id: l_MZ_L7mTBY

Length: 8min 14sec (494 seconds)

Published: Mon May 16 2022