Perhaps the greatest NBA moment of the season happened last night when Mavericks star Luka Doncic made his playoff arrival in dramatic fashion. His patented step back jumper gave the Dallas Mavericks an upset game four win against a championship favorite in the Clippers. Former Badger great and current overseas basketball pro Sam Dekker is just as impressed with the 21 year-old as the rest of us, but made an interesting point on Twitter today given his unique perspective as someone playing in Europe.
The beautiful game…@luka7doncic wins it with the OT BUZZER-BEATER in #PhantomCam! 🤩#TissotBuzzerBeater #ThisIsYourTime pic.twitter.com/DMzMMm8YIX
— NBA (@NBA) August 23, 2020
Sure, a step-back playoff game winner at the age of 21 after a 40-point triple double is nearly as impressive as it gets, but Dekker pointed to something even earlier on in the career of the current Dallas star.
Luka winning EuroLeague MVP and leading Real Madrid to multiple championships at 18 years old is maybe one of the most impressive things ANY basketball player can do.
I didn’t understand it until I came over here but now I know the level of play. It’s all very real https://t.co/cBV6lOa7BB
— Sam Dekker (@dekker) August 24, 2020
Oftentimes, the EuroLeague is viewed by American fans as a massive step below NBA basketball and not given the respect it deserves. Yes, the NBA is the most talented and toughest league in the world, but EuroLeague basketball is arguably the most physical basketball being played today. The level is higher than most American fans realize, as Dekker points out. He even admits that he lacked a full understanding of just how difficult the league was until he was actually playing in it.
Doncic dominated the highest level of international basketball at the age of 18 en route to a EuroLeague championship and MVP season with Real Madrid in 2018. He has been re-writing the record books at every level since his teenage years. We are seeing unprecedented greatness at a young age from the Slovenian-born star that is destined to be one of the next faces of the NBA.