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Dirk Nowitzki has revealed he was not so certain about Luka Doncic when the Dallas Mavericks first drafted him in 2018.
Nowitzki knew the Mavs would wish a brand new star following his retirement, he simply wasn’t certain Doncic was that man.
“My finish of profession wasn’t fairly, you understand, we have been struggling,” Nowitzki mentioned on All The Smoke. “There was some speak of tanking occurring and we would have liked a bit spark plug to vary issues. I didn’t assume it was going to be this child… I’m like, I’m unsure that is going to work. Is he fast sufficient? Is he athletic sufficient to go purchase guys like he’s in Europe? And so there have been loads of doubts there from all people on the group.
“And so guys have been attempting to check him a bit bit (earlier than coaching camp began) and you understand foul him a bit bit right here and there of their scrimmages. And you may already see that this child’s obtained one thing about him. He’s obtained that swag. He is aware of learn how to play. He was getting some AND1 mixtape passes out of nowhere. And I’m like, he was flashing a few of the expertise.”
It’s considerably of a shocking take from Dirk. Luka had loads of doubters coming into the league, however chief amongst them have been media taking heads like Stephen A. Smith who appeared to not perceive the gravity of what Doncic had achieved in Europe.
Doncic profitable EuroLeague and EuroBasket titles – in addition to EuroLeague MVP – was no accident. In hindsight, Luka was too good in Europe to be a bust.
Then once more, even those that predicted Doncic would succeed within the NBA would have struggled to think about he’d turn into as nice as he’s now.
READ MORE: Luka Doncic Addresses Chemistry With Kyrie Irving
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