Dallas Mavericks: 5 times NBA superstars praised Luka Doncic

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo

Fellow international star Giannis Antetokounmpo was no stranger to Luka Doncic’s dominance in the EuroLeague and was one of the first NBA players to heap praise upon Doncic as a result.

Antetokounmpo predicted Doncic’s stardom well before the regular season was underway in a July 2018 interview with Marca, a newspaper based in Madrid, Spain.

When asked about Doncic, Antetokounmpo said (via Google Translate):

"“He is the most exciting player that has appeared in basketball in recent years. “This past year in Europe he has won every competition he has played, EuroBasket, EuroLeague, Liga Endesa; he has been MVP of the EuroLeague, of the Final Four … He has shown that he is more than ready to play, that he has matured faster than the rest, he has played against professionals, as Charles Barkley said. The other rookies played against schoolboys. “People in the United States sometimes forget that in the EuroLeague they play very well and very hard, more than in the NCAA. You have to be very good to stand out in the EuroLeague, and Luka is. Doncic has a lot of talent. He will have a great first year and, if it is not in the second, he will explode in the third.”"

With the likes of Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis, Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell and countless other young players emerging in the past few seasons, Antetokounmpo went out on quite the limb when he declared Doncic as the most exciting of them all.

But after three months of Doncic raining step-back 3-pointers in defender’s faces, it’s clear that Giannis’ claim about the rookie holds water. Luka Doncic is must-see TV and he may very well hold the title of being the league’s most exciting young player.