Mavericks’ Luka Doncic had NBA player doubters before he joined league
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s preposterous to see that Luka Doncic slipped all the way to the third overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, and the team that drafted him — the Atlanta Hawks — even decided to trade him away to the Dallas Mavericks for the picks that became Trae Young and Cam Reddish. Doncic has become one of the best players in the association, as he is as close to an unstoppable offensive creator as there is in today’s NBA.
However, a few NBA players weren’t exactly sold on the merits of Doncic’s game back in 2018, when he was still a 19-year-old forward whom the Mavericks weren’t sure how to maximize yet. One of those players was Jeff Teague, who, on the Club 520 podcast (via Sporting News), admitted that Doncic was “lazy” and that he wasn’t “doing enough” to assume one of the top places on the league’s totem pole.
“I’m like, yeah, right. How tall is he? I think Rick (Carlisle) had him at the four at the time. He didn’t have any good games at the four. We were talking to (Dragic) again; I thought you said your man was nice. He said he’s just not playing the right position,” Johnson said.
Indeed, the Mavericks had to turn over primary ballhandling duties to get the most out of Luka Doncic. It didn’t take a while for Doncic to blossom into one of the most complete scorers and playmakers in the entire association, with Johnson now being all-in on the Doncic hype train.
“Boom. Once Rick [Carlisle] put him at the one, that man went wild. He had like four triple doubles in a row and 30-point games. I was like, your boy is a maestro,” Johnson recalled.
Luka Doncic combats European stereotypes to blossom as the Mavericks’ franchise cornerstone
It was apparent that Luka Doncic had plenty of game in him; after all, prior to entering the NBA in 2018, he was named the EuroLeague MVP and the Final Four MVP as he led Real Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague title. He only turned 19 during this time, and yet he was competing against grown men — all the while flourishing nonetheless.
It was confounding at the time that the Phoenix Suns would select Deandre Ayton over Doncic even though, Igor Kokoskov, the head coach of the Slovenian national team at the time, was at the helm for the Suns. Moreover, the Sacramento Kings immediately became the laughing stock of the league when they drafted Marvin Bagley III over Doncic — with former general manager Vlade Divac giving in to concerns regarding Doncic’s athleticism and defensive viability.
Of course, it is the Mavericks franchise that would have utmost belief in Doncic and his capability of leading the team to great heights. Their faith in Dirk Nowitzki paid off immensely after all. Doncic has a few ways to go before matching Nowitzki’s greatness for the franchise, but he isn’t too far off, especially if he builds upon his incredible 2023-24 season.
Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he’s a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.
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