The Dallas Mavericks have a special player on their hands in Luka Doncic. After shining in Europe as a young teenager, he is now winning hearts across the world. His magic on the court has been recognized by other players in the NBA. Now, other sport personalities have started applauding the young sensation too. World number one tennis star Novak Djokovic recently praised Luka and called him one of the best players globally.
During a recent interview with Sportklub, Djokovic said, “I think all the best about Luka as a basketball player and as a person. I have had direct contact with him for several years and we saw each other in Madrid while he played for Real. I’m very happy with his successes and I support him from the bottom of my heart.” (translated through Google Translate)
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Djokovic calls Luka Doncic one of the best players currently
Djokovic then spoke about following Doncic’s game.
“I follow him, I watch every game,” the number 1 ranked tennis player revealed. “I saw that in the fifth he had problems with his left ankle. The Clippers are a tough opponent, leading 3-2, but I hope that Luka will recover because what he did in the fourth game … It even more firmly positioned him as one of the best basketball players of today, he definitely deserves that title.”
During Game 3, Doncic injured his ankle and played less than 30 minutes. He struggled throughout the game and eventually; they lost. But in Game 4, Luka was on a mission.
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Though he was sans Kristaps Porzingis again, Doncic didn’t care. He went on a rampage, scoring 43 points, and got 17 rebounds and 13 assists. He finished this historic performance with a classic buzzer-beater game-winner.
However, the Mavericks couldn’t maintain this momentum and got thrashed in Game 5. They lost 154-111 to the Clippers to go behind 2-3 and stand one loss away from elimination.
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Despite this being his first-ever playoff appearance, Luka has been one of the best players in this series so far. He is outplaying veterans in the league at just 21 years of age. His maturity has been beyond his years, and he has shown that with a stronger team, he can easily take over the Playoffs.