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Luka Doncic entered the NBA as the third pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. The Atlanta Hawks originally drafted Doncic before the franchise traded him to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Trae Young, who was selected with the fifth pick in the same draft.
Atlanta likely saw Young as someone who could develop into a Steph Curry level shooter and playmaker, while Dallas has a long history of success with European talent. Doncic played professional basketball in Europe, where he developed his game with Real Madrid, one of the best teams outside of the NBA.
Since the trade, Doncic has developed into one of the best players in the league. A three-level scorer, with high-level self-creation, playmaking and rebounding ability. On the other hand, Young has stagnated as a star scorer and playmaker, with significant questions surrounding his defensive upside.
Luka Doncic won Rookie of the Year following his debut NBA season, leading fans and media to question Atlanta's decision to trade him, something which will link him and Young for the rest of their careers. Since being named as the Rookie of the Year, Doncic has made four All-Star teams and four All-NBA First Teams.
It won't be long until Doncic enters the MVP conversation as a front-runner.
Luka Doncic is expected to be ready for the new season
Despite Luka Doncic's exceptional talent, he isn't immune to injury. Toward the end of last season, the dominant forward was dealing with a thigh issue, but still found a way to compete at the FIBA World Cup. Nevertheless, it was clear that Doncic wasn't close to 100% throughout the tournament, and concerns were raised about his readiness for the upcoming NBA season.
During a recent interview on "97.1 The Freak," Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd gave an update on Doncic's injury, saying how he believes Doncic will be ready for opening night, but may not be 100%.
"I think hopefully, as we go forward here, that he will be ready to go," Kidd said. "I presume that sometimes in our career we are not 100 percent, maybe we're 99 or 95 percent. The more games you play, the longer your career, I think you can ask anyone. No one's really 100 percent."
Kidd continued.
"Now, looking at our roster, hopefully, we don't have to play him 40 or more minutes per night. With the depth that we have, I thought Nico [Harrison] did an incredible job this summer, but I'm excited with Luka and Kyrie Irving, and having Luka ready to go and achieve his goals and that's to win a championship."
Luka Doncic will aim for another big season with the Mavericks, as the Western Conference team looks to gatecrash the NBA Finals following the re-signing of Kyrie Irving and the addition of multiple new faces who can impact the board.
