SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – They call him “wonder boy” for a reason.
Luka Doncic joined the elite 200-point club in the FIBA World Cup after powering Slovenia to a seventh-place finish following an 89-85 win over Italy at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, September 9.
Dropping 29 points on the Azzurri, Doncic totaled 216 points as he became the 12th member of the exclusive group that includes legends Oscar Schmidt (Brazil), Drazen Petrovic (Yugoslavia), and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany).
Other players in the list are Kevin Durant (USA), Luis Scola (Argentina), Niko Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis (Greece), Shin Dong-pa (Korea), Antonello Riva (Italy), Wayne Brabender (Spain), and Drazen Dalipagic (Yugoslavia).
“We know what kind of guy we have. He’s our wonder boy. Obviously, he deserves to be among these big names,” said Slovenia veteran Zoran Dragic of Doncic.
“He’s going to accomplish even more in his career. I still can’t believe that Luka is still 24. Sometimes I’m looking at him, I think he’s the same age as me.”
The Dallas Mavericks ace is the first World Cup player to achieve the feat in over a decade, or since Durant and Scola both breached the 200-point plateau in 2010.
One of the fastest to reach the milestone, Doncic became just the fourth player to do so in eight or fewer games after Galis (six games, 1986), Shin (seven games, 1970), and Petrovic (eight games, 1986)
Ending the tournament with averages of 27 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, the Slovenian ace is also the first player with at least 200 points, 50 rebounds, and 40 assists in a single World Cup over the last 30 years.
“There are some big names you mentioned there. To have Luka at his age in this elite club, I think it’s a big honor for him also and big honor for us as a country to have such player,” said Slovenia head coach Aleksander Sekulic.
Doncic making history no longer comes as a surprise, but the way the NBA megastar approached their campaign has left Sekulic in awe.
Sekulic praised Doncic for opting to suit up in their last two games even after Slovenia crashed out of title contention after its quarterfinal loss to Canada.
“When we talk about superstars like Luka, they can easily say that they don’t want to play this kind of game or they’re tired or they have some small injuries,” said Sekulic. “But he wanted to play and he wanted to win hard.”
“That’s a big thing for us as a team. To show young guys – guys who are going to become national team players – how to play, how you respect the jersey, the name in front of your jersey.”
“I’m honored to be coach of this kind of team with Luka.” – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.