Luka Doncic

Luka Dončić is a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, born in Ljubljana and signed by Real Madrid at thirteen. He debuted in Spain's top division at sixteen and by nineteen had won the EuroLeague and been named its most valuable player, a European résumé no arriving NBA rookie had matched.

Drafted third in 2018 and traded immediately to Dallas, he was Rookie of the Year and then took the Mavericks to the Finals in 2024, playing a game built on pace changes, size at the guard position and passing angles other players do not see.

In February 2025 Dallas traded him to the Lakers in a deal widely disbelieved as a hoax when it broke, one of the most shocking transactions in the sport's history. He has led Slovenia at senior level since he was a teenager, including the EuroBasket title they won in 2017 when he was eighteen.

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