Photo Credit: Vid Ponikvar / Sportida
All-Star Goran Dragic Has Become The Mentor Of Luka Doncic
This coming Sunday, Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic will become the next European player to become an NBA All-Star. The next European prospect who could be making the NBA All-Star team is Luka Doncic.
Doncic, who currently plays for European powerhouses Real Madrid, is flourishing despite his tender age. He performed brilliantly for his home nation of Slovenia during this summer’s EuroBasket, helping them win the title. He averaged 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists and is already considered the number one draft pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
NBA scouts are drooling at the potential of Doncic, who already stands at 6”8’ and is reportedly still growing. At 6”8’, he may be tall, but Doncic can also play the point guard position and is seen as potentially one of the best Europeans prospects of his generation.
After becoming the youngest player to ever debut for Real Madrid at just 16 years old, he has continued to impress and ride the upward spiral of development in the fundamentals of European basketball.
Dragic and Dragic are teammates in the Slovenian national team and led their country to an European Championship. The two have known each other since Doncic was seven years old. Back then, he was rebounding for Dragic and did basically anything he asked for him. This led to Dragic now mentoring the young star, as he told Mike Schmitz of ESPN.
“Dragic has become Doncic’s national team roommate, friend, mentor and sounding board as he goes through the pre-draft process that almost took Dragic to the brink mentally. Doncic’s situation is different. He’s a potential No. 1 pick, a child prodigy who has been producing at an unprecedented level at age 18. But Dragic’s presence is imperative for Doncic, who will likely face the criticism that goes with European prospects selected in the top five.”
The torch will therefore be passed on. Two-time MVP Steve Nash was the one mentoring Goran Dragic, when Dragic first came into the league. Being an All-Star now, Dragic will be the one teaching Doncic, who may become this year’s number one draft pick.
