There are very few players in the history of international basketball who were dominant as a teenager overseas before coming over to the NBA, but Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic was one of those. Doncic starred for Real Madrid, winning EuroLeague MVP as an 18-year old before being taken with the third pick of the 2019 NBA Draft.
As such, it should come as no surprise that Doncic served as an inspiration for many young players growing up in Europe during that time. One of those was Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea, who was taken 25th overall in this year’s draft and will be a rookie for the Dallas Mavericks. And De Larrea admitted that he had long been a fan of the Mavericks because he idolized Doncic growing up in Spain.
“I saw Luka when he came from Madrid to here,” De Larrea said via Kevin Gray of DLLS Mavs. And he was for me like, my idol in my young era. So yeah, for that reason, I was a Maverick a long time ago. And right now I’m still being a Maverick.”
Coincidentally, De Larrea was technically selected by the Lakers with that 25th pick, though a trade was already in place in which L.A. sent that pick to the New York Knicks in order to move up one spot for Cameron Carr. The Knicks would subsequently trade De Larrea to the Mavericks in a separate draft day deal.
It was simply fate that De Larrea wound up on the team he grew up rooting for. Doncic was likely the reason a lot of people overseas were fans of the Mavericks, and now the Spanish guard will have the opportunity to carve out his own legacy in Dallas.
Doncic is one of the most beloved and influential international players of all-time and there will undoubtedly be many others who are inspired to pursue their basketball dreams because of what the Lakers superstar accomplished around the world.
Clippers rookie Baba Miller looks up to Luka Doncic
De Larrea isn’t the only rookie who was inspired by Doncic as Los Angeles Clippers rookie forward Baba Miller also admitted to looking up to the Lakers superstar. Miller, like Doncic, also played for Real Madrid as a teen and decided to come to America to play college basketball, finishing his college career at the University of Cincinnati before being drafted 36th overall by the Clippers.
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