Obviously the most exciting thing about attending a Wolves game is cheering for Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Taj Gibson and the other members of the team. As a basketball fan though, it is fun to get a chance to see some of the other talent around the league—provided they lose.
It’s always a big deal when LeBron James comes to town, Steph Curry is generally a good show and James Harden (though frustrating to watch sometimes) usually does a few things over the course of the game that make you sit up in your seat. However, what might be even more fun is getting a chance to see the future stars of this league in person. Wolves fans will have that chance on Friday night when Luka Doncic comes to town.
Before the 2018 draft, Doncic was subject to some of the strangest lines of interrogation we’ve seen of a prospect in some time, mostly pertaining to his playing overseas rather than in college. Never mind that he was one of the biggest stars in Europe at the age of 19, won the EuroLeague MVP and led his Real Madrid squad to a EuroLeague title. Oh, he also won the EuroBasket title for Slovenia after making his debut for the team at the age of 17.
But nobody knew if he could play in the NBA?
Turns out he could. This season, Doncic is averaging 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game for the Mavericks and become a viral Twitter star on the side. He has one of the most lethal step-backs in the game already and at this point looks like a legitimate threat to become the third player (Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook), to average a triple-double at some point during his career. For what it’s worth, over here at Timberwolves.com Doncic was our consensus No. 1 pick, here’s the receipt.
Doncic plays a combo guard-forward position that hasn’t really been seen before in the NBA (except for maybe Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, though Doncic is a far better shooter). Doncic is six-foot-seven with incredible court and passing vision, but his size allows him to rebound and finish over the top at an elite rate. He’s only played 40 games, but it already looks like Doncic is going to be a star. Ryan Saunders’ home debut as Interim Head Coach already adds a level of intrigue to Friday’s game, but if you needed another reason to pay attention, come for Doncic’s Target Center debut, it’s going to be a show (though hopefully he loses). Tickets are available here.