9781422271551

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Devin Booker Jayson Tatum Joel Embiid Luka Dončić Anthony Davis James Harden Kawhi Leonard

LeBron James Stephen Curry Chris Paul Giannis Antetokounmpo Kevin Durant Paul George Russell Westbrook

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Greg Bach

MASON CREST MIAMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876 Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4664-1

ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4843-0 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7155-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bach, Greg, author. Title: Luka Donč ić / Greg Bach.

Description: Hollywood, FL: Mason Crest, [2024] | Series: Hardwood greats. Pro basketball’s best players | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023015351 | ISBN 9781422246641 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422271551 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Donč ić , Luka,--Juvenile literature. | Basketball players--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Basketball players--Slovenia--Biography--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC GV884.D645 B34 2024 | DDC 796.223092 [B]--dc23/eng/20230413

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023015351 Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Andrew Luke Production: Crafted Content, LLC (www.craftedcontentllc.com)

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Greatest Moments . . . .7 Chapter 2: The Road to the Top 23 Chapter 3: On the Court . . . 37 Chapter 4: Words Count . . . 49 Chapter 5: Off the Court . . . 63

Series Glossary of Key Terms . 74 Further Reading & Internet Resources . . . . . . . . . .76 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Author Biography & Credits . 80

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-dependent questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series glossary of key terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability t o read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND enthralled: held spellbound; charmed myriad: countless; a large number of naysayer: someone who criticizes or opposes something prowess: skill or expertise in a particular activity ratcheted: cause something to rise or fall in a steady process triple-double: when a player produces double figures in three of the statistical categories—scoring, rebounds, blocks, steals, or assists—in one game

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Chapter 1

Greatest Moments European Excellence A long and legend-filled list of basketball royalty has flowed into the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Europe through the years—Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Vlade Divac, and Pau Gasol, among them—but a certain sharp-shooting, slick-passing, do-everything guard from Slovenia is well on his way to becoming the best of the bunch. Luka Dončić arrived in Dallas via a draft day trade with Atlanta in 2018 and began destroying defenders and dazzling fans from the outset. Starting for the Mavericks at just 19 years old, he averaged more than 21 points a game during his first season and was the runaway winner of the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Among the many fabulous feats of his first year, Dončić produced eight triple-doubles , third-most by a rookie in NBA history behind Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and 2018 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons. Dončić’s arrival was accompanied by questions of whether his dominance in Europe, where he reigned as the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) 7

It did not take Dončić long to establish that he could dominate in the NBA like he did in Europe.

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in 2018 and led his Real Madrid team to a championship, would translate to the NBA. Dončić squashed all those doubts in a resounding fashion. With his spectacular playmaking, he has even entered into the great debate about who is the best all-around player in the league today. Following his rookie of the year season, Dončić then scooped up All-NBA First Team honors in his next four seasons in the league, wedging his way into the NBA record books as the youngest player in league history to nab multiple First Team selections. Dončić started in two straight All-Star Games as well (he’s been the starter in three of his four appearances through 2023), something no other player in Dallas history has done. His league-best 17 triple-doubles in 2020 also garnered him the distinction of being the youngest player ever to lead the NBA in that category. Potent Package Possessing an imposing package of skills, Dončić can hurt teams in myriad ways. For starters, his buttery smooth, step-back three-pointers are impossible to defend. Rising up in his size 16 sneakers and releasing the ball above his six foot-seven-inch frame, the shot is lethal. Dončić also has terrific ball-handling skills, enabling him to navigate in high-traffic areas around the rim. In addition, he’s a passing wizard, already drawing comparisons to some of the best ever at distributing the basketball, as he routinely manages to deliver passes through a maze of defenders with striking efficiency. When future Hall of Fame inductee Dirk Nowitzki retired after a spectacular 21 seasons in Dallas, the franchise was in dire need of offensive production, and it hit the jackpot with Dončić. In the summer of 2021, he signed a hefty $207 million extension that will keep one of the game’s biggest stars in a Mavericks’ uniform for years to come, a comforting thought for the Dallas fan base.

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Chapter 1: Greatest Moments

Dončić’S Greatest Career Moments

Here is a look at some of Luka DonCiC’s career firsts and greatest achievements.

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Chapter 1: Greatest Moments

1

Wins Rookie of the Year Award It didn’t take long for Dončić to mute the naysayers who questioned whether a European teenager’s game could translate to the punishing NBA style and survive the marathon schedule that has teams crisscrossing the country for half the year. Dončić had little trouble adjusting to the NBA, as evidenced by these gaudy numbers: he averaged more than 21 points a game, grabbed nearly eight rebounds a game, and averaged half a dozen assists on his way to becoming the second player from Europe to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Spain’s Pau Gasol was the first to do so with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002. Dončić hoarded 98 of the 100 first-place votes to beat out Atlanta’s Trae Young for the honor. He is the second player in Dallas franchise history to win the award, joining Jason Kidd (now his head coach in Dallas), who shared the award with Grant Hill in 1995.

Luka Dončić’s first season in the NBA was filled with great play, as he was the runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year award in 2018–2019.

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2

Registers First Triple-Double Dončić’s play has been turning heads for years, and his prowess in all facets of the game is showing up on stat sheets across the league, too. He pocketed the first triple-double of his career during his rookie season in a 10-point loss at Milwaukee. While his 18-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist evening didn’t deliver a Dallas win, it was certainly a noteworthy moment for the NBA record books as he became just the second teenager ever to record a triple-double, joining Markelle Fultz, who did so with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018. Six days later, Dončić put up another terrific trio of numbers—35 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists—to secure his second triple-double in a home loss to Toronto. Dončić is the third-youngest player to pull off the triple-double in NBA history, behind Fultz and Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who achieved his first during his 2021 Rookie of the Year season.

Dončić collected the first triple-double of his career in a loss at Milwaukee during his rookie season.

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3

Scores Career-High 60 Points Dončić arrived at the American Airlines Center for a late-December game against visiting New York during the 2022–23 season with a spring in his step and oozing confidence. Just four days earlier, he had scored a career-high 50 points in a road win over Houston. Versus the Knicks, Dončić somehow ratcheted up his productivity with another display of brilliant shot-making to deliver a career-high 60 points in a 126–121 overtime win. The first 60-point game in Maverick’s history almost didn’t happen. It took a last-second shot from Dončić following his intentionally missed free throw to force OT. He celebrated the improbable basket (and his 56th point) like he had just won the game . . . because he mistakenly thought he had just won the game. Dončić sheepishly admitted that he thought they were only trailing by one point, not two. This set up the overtime period, where he scored four of the team’s 11 points to seal the win. Dončić’s effort was only the second 60-point triple-double in league history and the first ever with both at least 60 points and 20 rebounds (he had 21).

The New York Knicks couldn’t slow down Dončić, as he scored a career-high 60 points in the Mavericks’ 126–121 win during the 2022–23 season.

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4

Outstanding Olympian Slovenia made a dynamic debut in men’s basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), thanks to the spectacular play of Luka Dončić. He led his country on a deep—and unexpected—run in its first-ever Olympic tournament, just missing out on a coveted medal. After plowing through Group Play, highlighted by Dončić’s 48-point gem of a game against Argentina, he filled the stat sheet with 20 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists in a win over Germany in the quarterfinals. Against a talent-rich France team in the semifinals, with a berth in the gold medal game dangling in their sights, they lost a 90–89 heartbreaker. Dončić was fantastic, delivering 16 points, 10 rebounds, and a stunning 18 assists, becoming just the third player to record a triple-double in Olympic men’s basketball history. Slovenia was beaten by Australia in the bronze medal game, while Dončić accounted for a team-high 22 points. For the Olympic tournament, Dončić averaged nearly a triple-double: 23.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists a game.

Dončić made quite an Olympic debut, scoring 48 points in Slovenia’s opening win against Argentina at the Summer Games in Tokyo and leading his country to a fourth-place finish.

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5

Wins EuroLeague MVP Award While Kevin Durant and Steph Curry were taking the Golden State Warriors to an NBA title in the late spring of 2018, across the Atlantic Ocean, basketball fans in Europe were enthralled with the exploits of a teenaged Luka Dončić, who was leading a championship charge of his own. The 19-year-old strung together a season-long display of brilliant basketball to help Real Madrid win the EuroLeague championship. At the same time, he became the youngest player in league history to win the MVP award. Besides averaging more than 16 points a game, his name was scattered throughout all the key statistical categories as he ranked in the Top 15 in defensive rebounds, assists, steals, and fouls drawn. Plus, he was leaned on all season to play heavy minutes, another category he led the team in. As a result, Dončić was the first EuroLeague MVP chosen from Slovenia. He also was named Final Four MVP and collected his second straight EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy.

Luka Dončić is the youngest player ever to win the MVP award in the EuroLeague, capturing the honor at just 18 years old.

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