The 2026 NBA Draft is complete, and teams are beginning the process of introducing and signing their rookies. The Los Angeles Clippers, at No. 36 overall, selected Spanish big man Baba Miller, who finished his college career at the University of Cincinnati. Miller was born in Mallorca, Spain and played for the national under-18 and under-19 teams, giving him a connection to L.A. Lakers star Luka Doncic.
Doncic played for Real Madrid from 2015-18 before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. And while he is Slovenian-born and plays for the Slovenian national team, he still became an aspirational figure in Spain. That’s the case for Miller, who praised Doncic in his draft night press conference for the Clippers.
“The player I look up to the most, I would probably say Luka,” Miller said on draft night. “Just because he obviously grew up in the Real Madrid system, same as me. And just seeing what he’s been able to achieve after coming over here I feel like is just impressive. So I feel like he’s just someone I’ve always kind of looked up to since I was at Real Madrid.”
The NBA, more than ever, is a global game, with superstars and young players hailing from all parts of the world. With that, there are going to be more and more rookies that look up to other international superstars. Miller is not the same type of player as Doncic and did not grow up in the same part of the world, but he still looks up to the Lakers star because of his multi-year stint with Real Madrid.
Miller will be playing just down the road from Doncic with the Clippers in Inglewood. It’s unclear what type of role he’ll play, although the Clippers appear to be getting younger and traded away their starting center in Ivica Zubac last season. It may not be long before Miller can share the floor with Doncic when the Lakers and Clippers play this season.
Luka Doncic celebrated internationally in Jordan brand tour
While the Lakers look to put together a successful offseason, Doncic has been spending the summer in Slovenia in order to be with his two daughters. That decision coincided with Doncic withdrawing from being part of the Team Slovenia roster for their FIBA World Cup qualifying games.
Amid recently being cleared for full activities as part of his offseason training, Doncic spent the past handful of days headlining a Jordan Brand tour that featured stops in Madrid, Spain; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Belgrade, Serbia.
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