Before he ever entered the NBA, many viewed Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic as a prodigy. Whereas most international teenagers can barely get on the court for their teams, Doncic was dominating EuroLeague for Real Madrid before being selected third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and immediately becoming a star for the Dallas Mavericks.
There aren’t many players who come in with the level of expectations at such a young age as Doncic. Victor Wembanyama can certainly make that claim, as can Luka’s Lakers teammate LeBron James. Someone else who understood what Doncic was in for was Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and he even gave the Slovenian some advice prior to his rookie NBA season.
Luka discussed this in an interview with Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal, saying that Kobe warned him that players were going to come after him because he is an international player:
Doncic first visited Southern California in his early teens, working out at a performance lab in Santa Barbara, going to the beach, doing stuff teens do. (“Six Flags,” he says.) Shortly before his rookie NBA season, he met Kobe at a Nike camp, who offered a warning.
“I remember him telling me: ‘You’re from Europe, watch out,’” Doncic says. “‘They’re going to come after you.’”
It is very true that many American players look to test out international players when they come into the NBA as there is a belief that Europeans especially are soft and can be pushed around. And when one comes in with the reputation that Doncic had, players are going to go even harder at him to see if he really is worth the hype.
Bryant experienced that when he came into the league in 1996 with the Lakers and so he knew exactly what the young guard was in for. Thankfully, Doncic was as good as advertised and quickly showed that he can hang at the highest of levels. And now he has the opportunity to carry on Kobe’s legacy in the purple and gold and hopefully lead the Lakers to more championships very soon.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic didn’t know how to react at news of trade from Mavericks
Of course, Luka Doncic began his career with the Mavericks and thought he would spend his entire career there. He considered Dallas home and had no desire to leave which is why he was so shocked when he learned they had traded him to the Lakers and didn’t know how to react when he got the news.
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