Luka Doncic is one of the best basketball players alive today. The Slovenian sensation took the NBA by storm in his rookie season, winning the Rookie Of The Year award in the process. Luka Doncic’s star has risen with every passing season and he is on his way to becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Here Are Some Interesting Things To Know About Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic was born into a sporting family

Luka Doncic, also called the “miracle boy” and the “Balkan miracle,” was born on February 28, 1999 in Ljubljana. The father of the future athlete, Sasha Doncic, is a professional basketball player; in 2010 he retired and began working as a coach. Her mother, Miriam Poterbin, was a former hurdler and also worked as a model and dancer.

Luka Doncic lived with his mother

The basketball player has a mixed origin: on his father’s side, he has Serbian roots, and on his mother’s side – Slovenian. In 2008, the parents of the future athlete divorced, and Luka remained to live with his mother, but did not stop communicating with his father.

Mom remains an important part of a basketball player’s life: Miriam has supported her son since childhood. The woman’s attractive appearance still amazes Doncic’s sports colleagues and fans. Thousands of people follow Miriam’s account on social networks, and Luka’s mother never ceases to delight her son’s fans with his childhood and teenage photos.

Luka Doncic was introduced to basketball when he was just seven months old

According to his parents, the boy first touched a basketball at seven months old and has been interested in sports since childhood, including football. The latter had to be abandoned with age as Doncic’s growth began to interfere with his performance on the football field.

Luka Doncic started playing organized basketball at seven

Luka started playing basketball at the age of seven, when he was in primary school in Ljubljana, and played mainly with older children. Now the athlete says that this also helped the development of an intellectual approach to sports. The opponents were bigger and faster, so he had to think about tactics to win.

Luka Doncic always dominated players older than himself

When Luka was eight years old, his father began playing for the Slovenian club Olimpia, and the basketball school coach invited the boy to try himself in the game with his peers. In the first 16 minutes, he performed so well that he was immediately put in a team with 11-year-old children.

Luka Doncic joined Real Madrid in 2012

At 12, Doncic already represented Olimpia at the Vasas Intesa Sanpaolo Cup in Budapest and was named the most valuable player in September 2011. In February 2012, he was loaned to Real Madrid to represent the team in the Spanish under-14 competition Minicopa Endesa. Doncic, the youngest player, secured the team’s second place with his scoring efforts.

As a result, the 13-year-old signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid in September and moved to Madrid. First he played for the under-16 team, then for the youth team and then ended up in the club’s reserve team. 

In January 2015, Doncic won the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet tournament, after which he entered the all-tournament squad of the Real Madrid team, although he was at least two years younger than the rest of his partners.

On April 30, 2015, Luca made his debut for Real Madrid in the Spanish Endesa League and became the youngest athlete to play for the team in such competitions. The 2015/2016 season was Doncic’s period of playing for Real Madrid as a permanent member of the team. At the age of 16, the young man made his debut in the Euroleague: until then, only 20 players had managed to do this before the age of 17.

Luka Doncic shined bright during the 2016-2017 season

His season with Real Madrid was successful and provided Doncic with both popularity and the attention of basketball professionals. On December 4, 2016, personal statistics in the victorious game of Real Madrid against the Fuenlabrada club ensured that Luka was named the most valuable player of the week in the Endesa League. 

On December 22, having defeated the German team “Brose”, the athlete became the most valuable player of the week in the Euroleague. Once again, Doncic was the youngest player to receive this title.

At the end of the season, the basketball player participated in 42 Endesa League games and averaged 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3 assists. In the Euroleague, the numbers were 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists. The result was the title of “Euroleague Rising Star” and the “Best Young Player” award from the Endesa League.

Luka Doncic won the Euroleague MVP award before turning 20

Doncic’s performance for Real Madrid in the 2017/2018 season had a beneficial effect on the club’s statistics, especially after Sergio Llull suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. On September 24, 2017, with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, Luka was recognized as the Euroleague Most Valuable Player.

Luka Doncic is built to play basketball

Luka Doncic has an extremely advantageous build for a basketball player: he weighs 104 kg with a height of 201 cm, and an arm span of 218 cm. Thanks to such physical gifts, Doncic is versatile on the playing court. Luka Doncic is adept at playing as a point guard as well as a swingman.

Luka Doncic was drafted third in the 2018 NBA Draft

On June 29, 2018, he left Real Madrid to continue his sports career in the NBA. At a young age, even without being a college graduate, the basketball player already had extensive experience in adult performances and therefore did not go unnoticed in the 2018 NBA draft, where he was selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks, and after trading for the draft rights to Trey Yanga ended up in Dallas.

Luka Doncic started his NBA career with a bang

When Luka started playing for the Dallas Mavericks, coach Rick Carlisle considered it a great success for the team. Doncic did not have time to play in the 2018 NBA Summer League, but in the 2018/2019 season, he was considered the top contender for the NBA Rookie of the Year title. 

The Slovenian star made his debut in a game against the Phoenix Suns, in which he had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Two weeks later, in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, the star overcame the 30-point mark. In November 2018, Doncic was recognized as “NBA Rookie of the Month”. He eventually won the Rookie Of The Year Award as well.

In the 2019-2020 season, Doncic became the youngest European player to play in the NBA All-Star Game. A landmark match in the athlete’s career was the match with the Sacramento Kings, which took place on August 4, 2020, during which Luka set a personal best: 34 points, 12 assists and 20 rebounds.

In May 2021, the basketball player celebrated scoring 5,000 points in his career – at that time he was 22 years and 68 days old, making him the fourth youngest player to do so.

In August, Luka’s rookie contract was extended for five years for $207 million, which set a new record in NBA history.

Luka Doncic plays international basketball for Slovenia

In 2016, the basketball player made a statement that he decided to represent the Slovenian national team until the end of his career, although he could also play for the national teams of Serbia or Spain. At the 2017 European Championships, the athlete as part of the team received a gold medal, earning 27 points and 9 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Latvia. In the final match against Serbia, Doncic managed to score 8 points and grab 7 rebounds before he was injured and left the game.

The athlete fought for the honor of the country at the 2020 Olympic Games. With the help of Doncic, who was recognized as MVP of the tournament, the Slovenian team qualified for the games, but failed to win a medal.

Luka Doncic is quite stylish

Luka, like any athlete, has his own style. He is a stickler for restraint and neatness and, unlike his colleagues, does not try to attract attention with an exotic hairstyle, focusing more on professionalism.

Luka Doncic has numerous tattoos

The basketball player has several tattoos. On his right forearm is the Latin phrase Non desistas, non exeries, which translates to “Never stop, never give up.” Above it is an image of a tiger – Doncic loves this animal and even says that he would like to have his own. In 2017, he got another tattoo: an image of the EuroBasket Cup on his right side.

Luka Doncic has a steady personal life

Luka’s personal life, like any popular athlete, is visible, but it is impossible to find scandalous details in it. Since 2016, the basketball player has been dating model Anamaria Goltes. 

In July 2023, the athlete proposed to his lover, and the couple became engaged. And on December 1, Doncic became a father – Anamaria gave birth to a girl named Gabriela.

Luka Doncic continues to dominate the NBA

Now Luka’s task is to continue to meet the expectations placed on him by his coaches and teammates. In 2023, he was named to the NBA All-Star Game and the NBA 1st Team for the fourth consecutive season.

The Slovenian athlete not only participated in the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup but was also recognized as the top scorer in the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup, both in points per game (27) and in total points (216). Before Luka, in the entire history of the championship, only ten players were able to score 200 points. Despite Doncic’s outstanding performance, Slovenia finished the tournament only in seventh place.

Luka Doncic signed a massive contract

In the summer, there was talk in the press that the basketball player was preparing to sign a new contract worth more than $200 million. If the agreement goes through, Luka will take a special place in history as the player who signed the largest rookie contract extension in the NBA, and his salary will be from $34.7 million to $45.9 million per season.

Luka Doncic doesn’t like judging other players too much

Doncic is careful in his statements regarding his colleagues and in an interview, he answers that he does not make ratings to evaluate the positions of LeBron James, Nikola Jokic or Kyrie Irving. But the emotional athlete does not restrain himself on the court and, according to insider information, once rudely pulled back Phoenix Suns defender Devin Booker, who began to bully him after an offensive miss.