For months, it has been widely assumed that 19-year-old Slovenian uber-prospect Luka Doncic would declare for the 2018 NBA Draft. While there were rumblings early in the process that it wasn’t a foregone conclusion, word broke on Saturday morning that Doncic, would in fact, be eligible when the NBA convenes at Barclays Center on June 21.
Potential top pick Luka Doncic of Real Madrid has submitted paperwork to enter the 2018 NBA Draft, sources told Yahoo. Doncic, 19, is currently playing in the EuroLeague postseason.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 21, 2018
Shams Charania of Yahoo brings word of the news, and as noted, it is anything but a surprise. Doncic is not a surefire No. 1 prospect in a class that also includes Arizona’s Deandre Ayton and Duke’s Marvin Bagley III (among others). But he is widely considered the top perimeter player available.
Though Doncic has struggled to some degree in the EuroLeague postseason, his performance at a young age has been tremendous. In 52 games in the EuroLeague for Real Madrid this season, Doncic averaged 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest (in only 24.9 minutes per game) and his on-court accomplishments are virtually unrivaled for a 19-year-old against the best competition in the world outside of the NBA itself.
Still, there has been backlash against Doncic as a prospect in some circles, with detractors pointing to his lack of nuclear athleticism and a jump shot that has come and gone (30.2 percent from three this season) at times. It would be something of a surprise if Doncic was not the first perimeter player off the board in June, however, and many scouts project him as a player legitimately in the mix for the top overall selection.
At an obscenely young age and with an NBA-ready body (6’8 and 220 pounds), Doncic’s playmaking could be captivating at the NBA level (including a self-anointed comparison to Ben Simmons) and the league is, of course, placing a higher emphasis on wing players with creation ability than ever before. There will be plenty of debate as to just how high his ceiling is between now and the draft itself (with buzz undoubtedly stretching into Summer League and beyond) but Doncic appears to be heading to the 2018 draft and his arrival will be intriguing on a number of levels.
