Five years after a teenage Luka Doncic led led Real Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague title, he comes "home" to face his old team with the Dallas Mavericks.
Real Madrid and Luka Doncic: 'He is one of us'
Article
4 Mins read
Real Madrid hosts the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday in the first such showdown between NBA and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams on European soil in more than seven years. It is safe to say that Dallas star Luka Doncic's love for Los Blancos and his former teammates definitely made the game happen.
Simply put, no player in EuroLeague history achieved as much as Doncic as a teenager.
He left the competition after two full seasons as a 2018 EuroLeague champion and the Final Four MVP after having already been voted the season-long MVP, First Team All-EuroLeague and back-to-back Rising Star Trophy winner.
Five years after Dallas drafted him into the NBA, Doncic is arguably the most highly regarded EuroLeague booster in the world. Every time he praises the competition or says good words about Real, it gets headlines. As such, Doncic has raised awareness of the EuroLeague's quality and passion.
The year after he was voted the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year, Doncic surprised a lot of people by saying that scoring in the NBA was easier than in the EuroLeague.
"I would say that scoring is easier in the NBA just because of the different rules, the amount of space, the time...," he said on on J.J. Redick's podcast The Old Man and the Three. "In EuroLeague, it's more team basketball, it's more tactics, and you have less time."
Doncic, who has now been on All-NBA First Team for four consecutive seasons, made another unexpected confession earlier this year.
"I watch some NBA games, but I watch more EuroLeague than NBA," he said at a post-game press conference. "But if it is a really good NBA game on TV, I will watch it."
Doncic has pointed to his former Real teammate Sergio Llull and longtime EuroLeague icon Vassilis Spanoulis as two of his basketball heroes.
"He was my idol, I always admired him," Doncic said about Spanoulis. "That's why I wear number 7. I couldn't get 7 [in Dallas] because it was taken, so that's why I have 77. I just want to thank him for everything he brought to basketball not just to me, to a lot of players. He just showed to play basketball, how to act on the court, what is leadership."
Luka is forever thankful for the opportunity to play at Real Madrid starting at age 15 and considers the Spanish capital as his home. He has congratulated the team often on X (Twitter), not least after Lull's game-winning shot in last season's EuroLeague Championship Game.
He shows support to Real's football and basketball teams as often as possible, whether it is Karim Benzema winning the Ballon d'Or or former teammates Llull, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez adding another trophy to their roll of honors.
Of course, Doncic's madridismo is hugely appreciated by fans and former teammates alike. It is easy to spot dozens of Madrid fans wearing Doncic's jersey at WiZink Center, a number that will increase exponentially on Tuesday. Llull has already tweeted about Doncic's comeback, asking fans to welcome him with open arms. "The kid grew up and we face his Dallas Mavericks tomorrow," he said. "Let's welcome him the way he deserves. He is one of us."
It will be somewhat of a dream come true for Real fans, who have not seen Doncic play at Wizink Center in 1,942 days, since the end of the 2017-18 season. It will be much the same for Doncic.
"A very special day for me. There will be a lot of emotions," Doncic said in the game's presentation on Monday morning. "Everyone knows what Real Madrid and Madrid mean for me."