BOSTON (AP) 鈥� Luka Doncic didn鈥檛 stay up all night to watch NBA Finals games as a kid. They usually started at something like 3 a.m. in his native Slovenia. He had school to get to a few hours later. He鈥檇 wake up and find out who won.
Make no mistake, though: Doncic was paying attention.
鈥淓very kid who plays basketball dreams about this,鈥� Doncic said. 鈥淚 was one of them.鈥�
Dreams become reality for Doncic on Thursday night, when the 25-year-old makes his NBA Finals debut for the Dallas Mavericks as they take on the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of this year鈥檚 title series. He could become the first player to win a scoring title and a championship in the same season since Shaquille O鈥橬eal in 2000, and a title surely would only add to the argument that Doncic 鈥� who leads all players in this postseason in points, rebounds and assists 鈥� right now.
鈥淭his is going to be the international finals,鈥� said Kyrie Irving, Doncic鈥檚 backcourt mate in Dallas. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 going to be watching. Every finals is international, but the world is watching.鈥�
He didn鈥檛 have to clarify why. Yes, the NBA Finals have long been available in more than 200 countries and territories, broadcast in something like 50 different languages and dialects. And it鈥檚 hardly a new thing for foreign players to star on the NBA鈥檚 biggest stage; two of the past three NBA Finals MVPs were Greece鈥檚 Giannis Antetokounmpo for Milwaukee in 2021 and Serbia鈥檚 Nikola Jokic for Denver last year.
鈥淎mazing. First time here. Hopefully it鈥檚 not the last," Doncic said Wednesday at NBA Finals media day in Boston. 鈥淏ut never take it for granted. You never know if you are going to come back, so just enjoy the experience.鈥�
Doncic 鈥� who became a father for the first time this season, calling that development 鈥渢he greatest thing in the world鈥� 鈥� is a global corporation by himself, a player who speaks four languages fluently and has an enormous following everywhere. And a championship would only add to his rapidly growing legend.
鈥淟uka is at a spectacular, stratospheric level,鈥� Hall of Famer Pau Gasol said at an event in Spain this week. 鈥淲hat he has done 鈥� is within the reach of very few in the history of this sport.鈥�
The numbers back up what Gasol is saying.
Doncic is averaging 28.7 points per game in his six regular seasons; only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain 鈥� both at 30.1 鈥� have a higher career average. He鈥檚 the only player in NBA history to have averages of at least eight assists and eight rebounds per game. He鈥檚 one of two players with at least 10,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists through his first 400 career games; Oscar Robertson is the other.
鈥淕ame鈥檚 too simple, too easy,鈥� Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said late in the regular season, when asked why voters haven鈥檛 rewarded Doncic with an MVP award yet. 鈥淗e makes it look too easy. Unfortunately, that鈥檚 what happens with some of the greats ... we take for granted their talent.鈥�
Doncic wants no part of talk that winning is easy. He may make it look easy 鈥� he had a league-best 73-point game this season, 13 different games of scoring at least 40 points in the regular season, and that number could have been even higher considering he scored exactly 39 points on eight other occasions.
Coaches in his native Slovenia call him the best player in the world, especially after his exploits in , European championship and World Cup play in recent years. Opposing international coaches have done the same.
鈥淲hen you talk about basketball IQ, everybody has different levels,鈥� Kidd said Wednesday. 鈥淲hen you look at Luka鈥檚 level of understanding the game, time and score, who鈥檚 on the floor, he is at the head of the class in that sense. When you look at the stage, he鈥檚 not afraid of the stage, of the moment. Successful or not, he loves that moment. ... We're playing in the Finals, because of his IQ and his willingness to step up on that stage and not be afraid to fail.鈥�
Stopping Doncic in these finals is not an option, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. Containing is the goal.
鈥淵ou've just got to be very aware of what you鈥檙e willing to live with and what you鈥檙e willing to take away and when it鈥檚 time to adjust," Mazzulla said. "There鈥檚 not one coverage. There鈥檚 not one player. It鈥檚 going to take multiple coverages. It鈥檚 going to take multiple players. It's going to take a team effort.鈥�
The numbers don鈥檛 just happen, Doncic insists. Nor do the wins. Doncic was a proven pro before he even got to the NBA after starring as a teenager for Real Madrid, a club he has remained very close with. But his star has continued shining brighter in each of his NBA seasons 鈥� and now, kids in Slovenia will be waking up over the next couple weeks to see how their hero did in the finals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to win,鈥� Doncic said. 鈥淵ou watch a lot of film and go to work. And it鈥檚 very hard. I don鈥檛 think people understand how hard it is to win games in this league, especially in the playoffs. So, I think we earned to be here. We deserved that. Because every game we鈥檙e playing in the playoffs, it鈥檚 really hard to win.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
