Luka Doncic earned recognition for his defensive work at EuroBasket, the place he additionally led the event in scoring with 34.7 factors per recreation.
Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean, who was on Slovenia’s teaching employees, highlighted Doncic because the nationwide staff’s greatest defensive participant, praising his positioning, communication, and energy on every possession.
In the course of the event, St. Jean reportedly shared a video edit of Doncic’s defensive efficiency with Slovenian head coach Aleksander Sekulic, based on ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The footage demonstrated the guard’s dedication on each ends of the courtroom, displaying his potential to affect video games past scoring.
Doncic has made a seamless transition to the Lakers after being traded from the Dallas Mavericks on February 2. The commerce, which included Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris going to Los Angeles in alternate for Max Christie, Anthony Davis, and draft picks, reunited Doncic along with his childhood idol LeBron James.
Doncic continued to supply at a historic degree, scoring 30 factors with 15 assists in a March 4 win in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans. He joined LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and Jerry West as considered one of solely 4 Lakers gamers to succeed in these totals in a single recreation.
Within the playoffs, Doncic averaged 30.2 factors, 7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists throughout 5 video games regardless of the Lakers being eradicated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 4–1 collection loss.