2023-08-10 23:10:24
He Centennial Tournament It’s going to be more than just three friendly matches at the Martín Carpena. Spain, Slovenia and the United States are going to meet in a triangle that will serve to mark territory and probe their rivals for the World Cup. The FIBA ranking classifies them as three of the best teams in the world, Spain being the first, followed by the United States and in seventh place. Slovenia, led by the magician Luka Doncic.
He is not an unknown figure in Malaga, as he came to play up to three times at the Unicaja Palace. However, he is by no means the point guard who left 10 points with Real Madrid. Fans will not only have the opportunity to enjoy elite level basketball, but also to One of the biggest stars in the NBA right now.
The Slovenian was already touched by the wand when he played for the white team, but his arrival in the league with Curry, Lebron, Jokic and Antetokounmpo, among others, has allowed him raise your game to another level within the reach of only the chosen ones. The star of the Dallas Mavericks was in his Rookie of the Year first campaign and since then he has been the leader of the Texan team. For now, the most notable thing he has done with the ‘Mavs’ has been to reach some Conference Finals in the 21/22 season. This past year seemed key to taking a step forward, but not even the incorporation of Kyrie Irving managed to avoid the failure of the 11th position without even entering the playoffs.
The precociousness records that he has been breaking since landing in the NBA have been worthy of a player of that time. He averages 27.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8 assists since his arrival to the Mark Cuban franchise. A generational talent that management trusts to repeat the case of Dirk Nowitzki – mentor in his arrival in the league – idol of the franchise for which he played for 21 years. As a curious fact, Doncic has become this season the first player since legend Wilt Chamberlain to record a triple-double of at least 50 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists (56, 21, 10 for the Slovenian).
Luka’s playing style was already differential when he was in Spain, but it has become special since his arrival in the United States. He does not need to have an imposing physique to dominate the matches, his intelligence and his talent are what set the pace of the match. Nevertheless, its biggest weakness is still the defensive aspect. It is true that he has improved since Jason Kidd took over for the Mavericks, but it does not mean that the team scores more points with Luka on the court than without him.
key summer
However, if there is one issue that he has been burdened with all these years, it is his weight, with betting being his big problem every season. However, it seems that this year is different. The different images and videos that circulate through social networks show a much more athletic Doncic than usual. The Slovenian knows that this summer is key to guide his team again and to make that leap in quality, one more if possible, that will allow him to show all his potential in the North American league, which is why in Malaga he it will look finer.
An ‘alien’ in FIBA
Now, Luka Doncic is an ‘alien’ in FIBA basketball. The clearest example is the two most recent friendlies that he played in full. In the first he recorded against Greece 20 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assistsbeing his first match since April, while against the Montenegro of the compositor Kendrick Perry he left 34 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists. Two triple-doubles out of all logic that show that he is more than ready to shine at the Martín Carpena.
Real Madrid and his career in the NBA have elevated him to what he is now, but his moment of greatest splendor came with that Slovenia that was champion of the Eurobasket 2017… with only 18 years. He himself has insisted how important the leader of that team has been, Goran Dragic, the MVP of the tournament that gave him the opportunity to be the team leader. He failed to qualify for the World Cup that Spain won in 2019, but he did lead his team to the Tokyo Olympics.
Of that team that was about to sneak into the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games, 10 of the 14 called up by Aleksander Sekulić have repeated their call-up, 9 if we count on Vlatko Čančarthe second best player on the team, suffered a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament. The novelties are the young Gregor Glas, the former ACB Ziga Samar y Bine Quail. The three are part of the same litter that came third in the 2019 European Under-18 Championship. In addition, there is the American who is a Slovenian citizen Jordan Morgan and Aljaz Kuncwho plays in the NCAA.
What cannot be denied is that the celebration of the centenary of the Spanish Basketball Federation is going to be an event that will not only go down in history for bringing together such teams, but also for placing Malaga in the international spotlight for several days. Top level players will make the spectators vibrate, but it will be a ‘wizard’ who will capture most of the attention: Luka Doncic is ready for the show.
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