Luka Dončić

Luka Dončić ( LOO-kə DON-chitch; Slovene: [ˈlùːka ˈdòːntʃitʃ]; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since his rookie season, he has been selected to six NBA All-Star games and five All-NBA First Team selections. He also represents the Slovenian national team. Nicknamed Luka Magic, he is broadly regarded as one of the greatest European players of all time.

Dončić was a youth player for Union Olimpija before joining the youth academy of Real Madrid. In 2015, he made his debut for the academy's senior team at age 16, becoming the youngest in club history. He made his senior debut for Slovenia in 2016 at only 17 years of age. He later helped his country win its first EuroBasket title, in 2017, while also being named to the All-Tournament Team. Dončić led Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague title, winning the EuroLeague MVP and the Final Four MVP. He was named the ACB Most Valuable Player and won back-to-back EuroLeague Rising Star and ACB Best Young Player awards. Dončić was also selected to the EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team.

Dončić declared for the 2018 NBA draft, where he was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Dončić was unanimously selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won Rookie of the Year for the 2018–19 season. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2023–24 season, becoming the first European to lead the NBA in scoring and second international player to achieve the feat. That season, he led the Mavericks to their third NBA Finals appearance. Dončić is also the Mavericks' franchise leader in career triple-doubles, and holds the record for most points in a Mavericks season.

Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of the 2024–25 season in a controversial blockbuster trade that is regarded as one of the most shocking and unexpected trades in American sports history.

Early life

Dončić was born in Ljubljana to Mirjam Poterbin, an owner of beauty salons, and Saša Dončić, a basketball coach and former player. His mother is Slovenian, and his father is a Slovenian of Serbian descent from Kosovo. His parents filed for divorce in 2008, with custody and legal guardianship granted to his mother.

According to his family, Dončić first touched a basketball when he was seven months old and frequently played with a miniature hoop in his room by age one. Dončić played various sports in his childhood, including football, which he later quit after growing too tall. At age seven, Dončić began playing organized basketball at a primary school in Ljubljana. His opponents at the time were up to 10 years old, as Dončić reflected: "I was always training and playing with older kids who had much more experience than me. Many of them were bigger and faster than me too, so I had to beat them with my brain." Dončić admired Greek basketball player Vassilis Spanoulis from his early teenage years, stating that he was "enchanted" by him. Dončić wore the number 7 at Real Madrid in honor of Spanoulis. Dončić also grew up admiring the American basketball player LeBron James.

Youth career

Union Olimpija

When Dončić was eight, his father started playing for his hometown club Union Olimpija. Olimpija Basketball School coach Grega Brezovec invited Dončić to practice with players his age. Only 16 minutes into his first training session, the coaching staff moved Dončić to the 11-year-old group. Starting in the next session, he primarily practiced with Olimpija's under-14 team. Still, due to league rules, Dončić only played for the club's under-12 selection team, coming off the bench against opponents three or four years older than him. Despite his exclusion from under-14 games at the time, Dončić often asked to attend practice, even when his coach asked him to stay home.

Representing Olimpija at the under-14 Vasas Intesa Sanpaolo Cup in Budapest in September 2011, Dončić was named the most valuable player (MVP) despite finishing as runners-up to FC Barcelona. In February 2012, he was loaned to Spanish club Real Madrid for the Minicopa Endesa, an under-14 Spanish club competition. Dončić averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.3 steals per game to win tournament MVP honors, leading Real Madrid to a second-place finish. In April 2012, he participated in the under-13 Lido di Roma Tournament for Olimpija, finishing as MVP and leading scorer with 34.5 points per game. In the semifinal round of the event against Victoria Fermo, Dončić posted 29 points and 15 rebounds. In a title-clinching win over Lazio, he erupted for 54 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Real Madrid

In September 2012, at 13 years of age, Dončić signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid, immediately standing out on the under-16 team with coach Paco Redondo. Dončić moved to Madrid, living with football and basketball prospects. In February 2013, he led Real Madrid to a Minicopa Endesa win, averaging 24.5 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and six steals per game. In the tournament's final game, Dončić had 25 points, 16 rebounds, and five steals to defeat FC Barcelona and win MVP honors. In March, he earned MVP accolades of the under-16 Spain Championship, scoring 25 points in a championship game win over the Gran Canaria youth team.

In the 2014–15 season, Dončić mainly played with Real Madrid's under-18 and reserve teams. He averaged 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists with the reserve team, helping them win Group B of the Liga EBA, the amateur fourth-division of Spanish basketball. By the end of the season, Dončić earned all-league honorable mention accolades from the basketball website Eurobasket.com. In January 2015, Dončić won the under-18 Ciutat de L'Hospitalet Tournament and was selected to the All-Tournament Team, despite being two years younger than the rest of the team. On January 6, against the youth team of his former club Union Olimpija, he posted a double-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. In May 2015, Dončić won the under-18 Next Generation Tournament, for which he was selected MVP after helping defeat defending champions Crvena zvezda Belgrade in the final.

Professional career

Real Madrid (2015–2018)

Early years (2015–2016)

On April 30, 2015, Dončić made his professional debut for Real Madrid in the Liga ACB against Unicaja, making his only three-point attempt in under two minutes of playing time. At 16 years, two months, and two days of age, Dončić became the youngest player to ever play for Real Madrid in the ACB and the third-youngest debutant in league history, behind only Ricky Rubio and Ángel Rebolo. Dončić played five games in the 2014–15 ACB season, averaging 1.6 points, and 1.2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes per game.

In the 2015–16 season, Dončić became a regular member of Real Madrid's senior team. He played against the Boston Celtics in an NBA preseason game on October 8, 2015, collecting four rebounds, an assist, and a block. On October 16, at age 16, Dončić debuted in the EuroLeague, scoring two points in a loss to Khimki. He became the 21st player ever to debut in the EuroLeague before turning 17. On October 18, Dončić recorded 10 points and four rebounds in a 94–61 victory over Gipuzkoa. On November 29, he posted a season-high 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists against Bilbao. With the performance, Dončić set a new ACB record for most points and the highest Performance Index Rating (PIR) in a game for players under age 17. He scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds on January 7, 2016, against CSKA Moscow in the EuroLeague. After a Real Madrid time-out in the second quarter of the game, Dončić made three consecutive three-pointers, recording nine points in two minutes. Through 39 games in the 2015–16 ACB season, he averaged 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. In 12 EuroLeague games, Dončić recorded 3.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.