Player Bio

Luka Doncic was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to Mirjam Poterbin and Sasha Doncic. His father played pro basketball in Slovenia while his godfather, Radoslav Nesterovic, played 12 seasons in the NBA and won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. Luka began playing basketball at age eight with the youth teams of Olimpija. He practiced often with Olimpija's under-14 team, but due to league rules, could not play with the squad. Instead, he played for the club's under-12 selection team. When he was only 13, Doncic signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid. He immediately began playing for the under-16 team, earning the MVP award during the under-16 Spain Championship. In the championship game, he scored 25 points in victory. The following year, Doncic moved up to Real Madrid's under-18 team and reserve team. He continued to shine, winning the MVP award at the under-18 Next Generation Tournament and claiming a championship. At 16 years, two months and two days of age, he made his professional debut, becoming the youngest player to ever play for Real Madrid. A little over three years later, Doncic became an NBA player when he was selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. He has shown an interest for charitable giving throughout his brief career, donating game-worn sneakers to raise money for meaningful causes on more than one occasion. Learn more about Doncic by following him on Twitter (@luka7doncic) and on Instagram (@lukadoncic). Luka Doncic played three seasons for the EuroLeague's Real Madrid squad before joining the Mavericks in 2018. As a 16-year-old, he appeared in 51 EuroLeague and ACB games for Real Madrid, coming off the bench to average 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in over 12 minutes per game during the 2015-16 season. During his second year with Real Madrid, Doncic started 26 of 77 EuroLeague and ACB games, helping the squad to a fourth-place EuroLeague finish. He led the team in scoring in four of 36 EuroLeague contests. Doncic's EuroLeague career peaked in 2017-18, a season in which he led Real Madrid to their 10th EuroLeague Championship. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 boards and 4.3 assists over 33 EuroLeague contests. After Real Madrid defeated Fenerbahce Dogus in the EuroLeague finals, Doncic was named both EuroLeague Final Four MVP and EuroLeague MVP. At 18, he was the youngest EuroLeague player to win the MVP award.