Given what we’ve seen and heard as it regards the thoughts from other NBA stars on Luka Doncic, we continue to be confounded by the suggestion from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that they wouldn’t want to play with Doncic.
Luka’s dad, Sasa, has a retort that trumps Windhorst - and trumps being confounded.
“I don’t know. Maybe this journalist is probably the biggest basketball genius. So please don’t ask me about it,” Sasa said with a chuckle in an interview with BasketNews.com's Donatas Urbonas.
Doncic, at 22 and in his third NBA season, naturally comes under scrutiny. We’ve talked a great deal about how the All-NBA standout wears his emotions on his sleeve, maybe to his detriment. We also know more now about his conflicts with fellow star Kristaps Porzingis, with team analytics boss Bob Voulgaris and even now-departed coach Rick Carlisle.
But the idea that the Mavs playmaker might be the real problem with the Mavs, Windhorst saying that the youngster may be a “difficult person” to deal with an adding that he is not sure how many players would actually want to play alongside Doncic in Dallas?
Given the fact that Doncic is the NBA’s least-selfish superstar, that seems an outrageous accusation. Especially when considering how much fun his Slovenian teammates are having playing with him...
Sasa noted that people around Luka actually “feel good”–a sign of “good leadership.”
“I’m telling you, what he is doing in the NBA is more than great,” said Sasa, who played professional basketball and just finished watching his son lead their native Slovenia to its first-ever Olympics berth. “I’m talking as a basketball fan. As a father, I’m very proud of him. He’s not afraid of anybody. He has this heart and guts to compare with everybody. What he’s doing at 22 years old in the NBA, as a European player, I think, nobody does this.”
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