Luka Doncic

[SportsGuy8]

It's 6′8″, actually 6'8.31", so it's getting close to 6'9".

But does anyone know if that's in shoes or barefoot? It's quite possible that's his current height in shoes. It's also possible his agents are going to start exaggerating his height a bit, hard to tell and know ...

[UcanUwill]

Latest info about his height.
In todays article in Marca http://www.marca.com/baloncesto/acb/2017/02/05/5896e5df46163fba398b4573.html, they say he is 204 cm (thats 6'7' right?)

204 is a solid 6'8. He doesnt seem as tall to me, but I might be wrong.

I hate to stereotype but he seems like a bigger Ricky Rubio with a better outside shot. That might be a solid player but I was not impressed with his physical tools. I was impressed with his skill set & court vision but I do not see him being an elite scorer at the NBA level due to physical limitations and limited ability to create shots for himself off the bounce.

Completely different players IMO. As I said before, I liked Rubio as prospect much much more. Rubio had great physical tools, quick and fast, great footwork, solid length for his position. Was a lockdown defender already. He really looked like a superstar in the making as soon as he improves his shooting and scoring. Thing is, he never improved in those areas and to add to that, he blew his knee in his rookie year.

[JPF]

204 cm would be in between 6'8 (203) and 6'9 (205cm).

I wouldn't rely on those, players rarely care enough about their height to get measured in the mid season. He'll get measured at the pre-draft workouts whenever he attends those and we'll get a comparison than. The last reliable info was 202cm without shoes.
It does seem he has a decent wing-span for european standards though.

[Sports Geek]

204 cm would be in between 6'8 (203) and 6'9 (205cm).

I wouldn't rely on those, players rarely care enough about their height to get measured in the mid season. He'll get measured at the pre-draft workouts whenever he attends those and we'll get a comparison than. The last reliable info was 202cm without shoes.
It does seem he has a decent wing-span for european standards though.

Yeah, I think he is more 202 than 204 too

[peja_the_legend]

3 points on 1/3 shots,1 assist in 20 minutes,an overall underwhelming performance against a scrub spanish team.You wont see any highlights reel of him from this game that's for sure

[Sports Geek]

3 points on 1/3 shots,1 assist in 20 minutes,an overall underwhelming performance against a scrub spanish team.You wont see any highlights reel of him from this game that's for sure

Not underwhelming at all. Shy game from him, very few touches, that's it. 9 PIR, 4th in his team in the game in this stat. You will see a good highlight, a good defense on the post on Radovic (Murcia's 6'10" PF) ending with a nice block.

It was a very good defensive Real Madrid game and it was ended by halftime, so there were minutes for the ones that don't play too much (Nocioni, Draper, even Suárez,...). The rest of the game was played half speed, so not a good game to draw conclusions. Super boring game.

[antonac]

You have to be very, very low on Rubio to say Doncic seems like a bigger Rubio with a better outside shot and follow that up with "that might be a solid player". That'd be a GREAT player, a perennial All-Star type. You don't need to be an elite scorer to be great.

Besides, Doncic is clearly better at fighting through contact compared to Rubio. I mean the dude is 17 and can get his at Euroleague level.

I'm glad you said this, every season I hope to see a Rubio that's made a big leap regarding his scoring just to see what he could do in the league, maybe he'd still lack a bit of athelticism but short of being some sort of transcendent player like Curry I'd struggle to imagine a better point guard. we'd essentially be talking about a larger chris paul.

[SportsGuy8]

A bad game for his recent very high standards, but he still showed some nice things:

Watch on YouTube

It says a lot when a player can have such a "bad" game (quiet would be a better word), but he still doesn't look bad at all, because he simply doesn't make mistakes ... Other players easily look like complete scrubs on their off nights.

He also showed some passing out of post-up, which is something that's much underappreciated. That's where Jason Kidd & Andre Miller made their living. It's another major thing that lacks in Rubio's game and that makes Rubio's life a lot harder in half-court sets. If he was able to post-up well, he could overcome his lack of shooting, but because he's not good at that either, he really struggles in half-court ...

Rubio has better vision, one of the best ever, he also might be a lot better passer in transition, open-court, but it's things like this that will eventually probably make Doncic better than Rubio even at passing! Passing out of post-ups might not be flashy, but can be extremely deadly, especially in important games vs. good teams.

[BoardCrusher]

3 points on 1/3 shots,1 assist in 20 minutes,an overall underwhelming performance against a scrub spanish team.You wont see any highlights reel of him from this game that's for sure

Not underwhelming at all. Shy game from him, very few touches, that's it. 9 PIR, 4th in his team in the game in this stat. You will see a good highlight, a good defense on the post on Radovic (Murcia's 6'10" PF) ending with a nice block.

It was a very good defensive Real Madrid game and it was ended by halftime, so there were minutes for the ones that don't play too much (Nocioni, Draper, even Suárez,...). The rest of the game was played half speed, so not a good game to draw conclusions. Super boring game.

yup, you could see from the start, other players were gonna get more chances.

But I did notice one thing, people often point out his slow first step, which is true to a degree, but yesterday one thing was clearly visable, the very moment, the defender wasnt directly infront of him, Doncic easly uses his body strenght and makes the defender fall behind or gets a foul called.

[BillyKingGM]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

[UcanUwill]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

With Euro teams, you can never be sure. They don't trust teenagers even when they are very good. Of course contra argument is that Europe just doesn't have the same level of prospects USA has, and thats true. But just looking at most recent NBA draftees from Europe, even successful ones had very limited roles on their Euro teams.
Thing with Doncic that impresses people, is not only his game, but the fact he managed to earn so much trust from his powerhouse team coach.

[Sports Geek]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

I doubt it. Not because he is not talented, he is obviously, but even All-stars struggle when they try to translate their games to FIBA basketball. They need time to adjust. Usually a World Cup was not enough for some of them to do so. Obviously, if you are Kevin Durant, you are dominant even playing streetball. But this is not the case with any prospect.

Doncic was developed in that environment, so it is much more natural for him. The same way I don't say Doncic will be dominant for sure in the NBA because we don't know how he will adapt to American style, Fultz's adaption would be a question too. Jennings wasn't mature enough to adapt, even when he was a really talented kid. I think he didn't understood in Europe you have to play to win, not to show your talent for the draft. European coaches wants you to be solid specially when you are a youngster. If you show you aren't, you won't have minutes to turn the tide.

Anyway, we usually compare Doncic with Fultz or Ball, and they are not going to be in the same draft class if everything happens in a normal way.

[jrob23]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

I doubt it. Not because he is not talented, he is obviously, but even All-stars struggle when they try to translate their games to FIBA basketball. They need time to adjust. Usually a World Cup was not enough for some of them to do so. Obviously, if you are Kevin Durant, you are dominant even playing streetball. But this is not the case with any prospect.

Doncic was developed in that environment, so it is much more natural for him. The same way I don't say Doncic will be dominant for sure in the NBA because we don't know how he will adapt to American style, Fultz's adaption would be a question too. Jennings wasn't mature enough to adapt, even when he was a really talented kid. I think he didn't understood in Europe you have to play to win, not to show your talent for the draft. European coaches wants you to be solid specially when you are a youngster. If you show you aren't, you won't have minutes to turn the tide.

Anyway, we usually compare Doncic with Fultz or Ball, and they are not going to be in the same draft class if everything happens in a normal way.

as POTUS says....."wrong!"

I'm not too high on Fultz myself but he'd easily be the best player in your league and unstoppable. Fultz and Doncic aren't remotely close as prospects. You are basing Doncic off of what he's able to do against scrubs who'd never play in the NBA and/or guys that wouldn't even get minutes on the better U.S. college teams. Of course your opinion is slanted. Of course, I'm also guilty of having a slanted opinion because I view your leagues as being extremely weak. If we had more evidence of smaller guys coming over and succeeding it'd help sway me. But so far it seems mainly big men that are able to translate their skills from Europe to the NBA. I can't remember many SG/SF making the leap so it's hard to believe at his present size and athleticism he can do it. If he was 6'9" I think it'd make a huge difference and even better if taller.

[Apollo64]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

Fultz wouldn't even get minutes in RM right now, it's a completely different environment with different demands and goals.

Real Madrid is trying to win the Euroleague and Spanish League, they don't have time for kids that don't "know how to play" (tm) yet at this level. This is what makes Doncic an outlier.

[UcanUwill]

as POTUS says....."wrong!"

I'm not too high on Fultz myself but he'd easily be the best player in your league and unstoppable. Fultz and Doncic aren't remotely close as prospects. You are basing Doncic off of what he's able to do against scrubs who'd never play in the NBA and/or guys that wouldn't even get minutes on the better U.S. college teams. Of course your opinion is slanted. Of course, I'm also guilty of having a slanted opinion because I view your leagues as being extremely weak. If we had more evidence of smaller guys coming over and succeeding it'd help sway me. But so far it seems mainly big men that are able to translate their skills from Europe to the NBA. I can't remember many SG/SF making the leap so it's hard to believe at his present size and athleticism he can do it. If he was 6'9" I think it'd make a huge difference and even better if taller.

Dude, come one, you are underrating ACB competition big time (I am not even talking about Euroleague). Your opinion is slanted for sure. Real alone has 6 former NBA players who are just role players on the team. And the rest of the guys are Euros who had long careers and played their way into Euroleague elite. Sure ACB has trash teams, but any of those teams are still better than college ones. ACB is second strongest domestic league in the world.

[Apollo64]

Btw, how did Fultz fare against a top college which as a team is still worse than the worst team in Euroleague? He has a long way to go as a player.

[Sports Geek]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

I doubt it. Not because he is not talented, he is obviously, but even All-stars struggle when they try to translate their games to FIBA basketball. They need time to adjust. Usually a World Cup was not enough for some of them to do so. Obviously, if you are Kevin Durant, you are dominant even playing streetball. But this is not the case with any prospect.

Doncic was developed in that environment, so it is much more natural for him. The same way I don't say Doncic will be dominant for sure in the NBA because we don't know how he will adapt to American style, Fultz's adaption would be a question too. Jennings wasn't mature enough to adapt, even when he was a really talented kid. I think he didn't understood in Europe you have to play to win, not to show your talent for the draft. European coaches wants you to be solid specially when you are a youngster. If you show you aren't, you won't have minutes to turn the tide.

Anyway, we usually compare Doncic with Fultz or Ball, and they are not going to be in the same draft class if everything happens in a normal way.

as POTUS says....."wrong!"

I'm not too high on Fultz myself but he'd easily be the best player in your league and unstoppable. Fultz and Doncic aren't remotely close as prospects. You are basing Doncic off of what he's able to do against scrubs who'd never play in the NBA and/or guys that wouldn't even get minutes on the better U.S. college teams. Of course your opinion is slanted. Of course, I'm also guilty of having a slanted opinion because I view your leagues as being extremely weak. If we had more evidence of smaller guys coming over and succeeding it'd help sway me. But so far it seems mainly big men that are able to translate their skills from Europe to the NBA. I can't remember many SG/SF making the leap so it's hard to believe at his present size and athleticism he can do it. If he was 6'9" I think it'd make a huge difference and even better if taller.

In the last Euroleague game against Baskonia, he made 30 PIR. Take a look at its roster:

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/teams/showteam?clubcode=BAS&seasoncode=E2016

Larkin, Bargnani, Beaubois, Laprovittola, Shengelia and Budinger have NBA experience. Voigtmann will likely play there sooner or later, Tillie could be one more of those average stretch PFs, Hanga could play easy in the NBA with those legs, Sedekersis and Kurucs are two of the best European prospects,... Man, you are the one who is wrong. How can it be a scrub team? As I said before, every year at least one European team beats an NBA one.

And there are NCAA stars playing in the LEB oro, the Spanish second division. For example, Tim Derksen, who was in the West Coast Conference second team in his last year. That season, he went 17-7-2. Seven rebounds per game for a 6'3" SG. In the LEB gold he got 4'6 rebounds per game. So even the Spanish second division (they would be destroyed by all Euroleague teams) seems to be more physical than the NCAA. Why is he playing in that league? He didn't find a place in any of those scrub teams you mention.

I would recommend you to follow the Euroleague's game of the week. Give it a try, no need to go deeper into the league, just the game of the week. I think you will be surprised and end up liking European play style.

[SportsGuy8]

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

I doubt it. Not because he is not talented, he is obviously, but even All-stars struggle when they try to translate their games to FIBA basketball. They need time to adjust. Usually a World Cup was not enough for some of them to do so. Obviously, if you are Kevin Durant, you are dominant even playing streetball. But this is not the case with any prospect.

Doncic was developed in that environment, so it is much more natural for him. The same way I don't say Doncic will be dominant for sure in the NBA because we don't know how he will adapt to American style, Fultz's adaption would be a question too. Jennings wasn't mature enough to adapt, even when he was a really talented kid. I think he didn't understood in Europe you have to play to win, not to show your talent for the draft. European coaches wants you to be solid specially when you are a youngster. If you show you aren't, you won't have minutes to turn the tide.

Anyway, we usually compare Doncic with Fultz or Ball, and they are not going to be in the same draft class if everything happens in a normal way.

as POTUS says....."wrong!"

I'm not too high on Fultz myself but he'd easily be the best player in your league and unstoppable. Fultz and Doncic aren't remotely close as prospects. You are basing Doncic off of what he's able to do against scrubs who'd never play in the NBA and/or guys that wouldn't even get minutes on the better U.S. college teams. Of course your opinion is slanted. Of course, I'm also guilty of having a slanted opinion because I view your leagues as being extremely weak. If we had more evidence of smaller guys coming over and succeeding it'd help sway me. But so far it seems mainly big men that are able to translate their skills from Europe to the NBA. I can't remember many SG/SF making the leap so it's hard to believe at his present size and athleticism he can do it. If he was 6'9" I think it'd make a huge difference and even better if taller.

And like with POTUS, these are your "alternative facts" I presume ... NCAA is close to the Euroleague (or even better) in the same way Trump's inauguration numbers were close to Obama's in 2009 (or even better). You appear to be living in the same alternate reality as Trump and his team.

As Sports Geek just mentioned, in his last Euroleague game, Doncic was up against a team full of ex NBA players, and that isn't even a top team in the Euroleague, instead it's right around the middle. Some of the players were Chase Budinger (a somewhat decent rotation player in the NBA), Rodrigue Beaubois (who was a decent backup in the NBA, during his rookie year some people even thought he's going to end up being a star), Bargnani (who did average over 20 in the NBA in one season, no matter what we think of him), then there were a couple guys with brief stints in the NBA (which means they are at least talented enough) ... Oh and Shane Larkin, a first round pick in 2013 draft, who made a couple All-American 2nd teams.

Keep in mind that all of these players are surely much better now than they were during their college years ... And that's just a middle-of-the-road type of team in Euroleague.

If these are "scrubs", then what are the type of players NCAA stars have to face on a weekly basis that don't even make it to the NBA? Super-duper-scrubs? They only occasionally have to face other top prospects, you guys make it seem like lottery picks only play against and are defended by other lottery picks with supreme athleticism, but that almost never even happens.

[UcanUwill]

Peronally, from what I saw, which is not much, I think Fultz and Doncic are very similar. If you high on Fultz, I dont see why you shouldn't be high on Doncic. Based from highlights alone, I wasn't that impressed with Fultz really, I liked Ben Simmons more.

[Mirotic12]

Do you know why we don't understand each other? Americans would mostly choose Howard over Pau, in fact they did, they thought he was the better player. Europeans wouldn't. In the end the one who succeeded was Pau, while Howard is undeniably a beast but unable to win a single title because of his lack of coordination, IQ and composure. Different ways to see this game. I understand that and respect it. I just think you don't understand that none of these Euro fans ever watched something like this. I am 37 and I have been playing basketball and of course watching it since the age of 3. I don't remember an underage dominating veteran stars. Not just competing, dominating. And these stars. Euroleague is not like ancient European competitions. The gap between Europe and the NBA is closer each day. Plus there are 3 Fultz or Balls per year getting out the NCAA. Never ever a player even close to Doncic level, arose at such a young age. That's why we are so excited. We are not crazy or chauvinist, he is just doing something all of us thought it was impossible. Yeah, impossible. No way a teenager could play meaningful minutes in Real Madrid. No way he could be the best player in the team and dominate other stars. No way he could have a couple MVP awards.

Man, can you please stop with the hyperbole and over the top reactions here to whatever Doncic does. He is absolutely 100% NOT dominating EuroLeague. He's not even in the conversation of "domination".

It's these kind of ridiculous exaggerations that cause a lot of Americans NBA only fan types to have such a negative view of European basketball. In no way, shape, or form, is Doncic close to being "dominant".

Let's please tty to keep this discussion serious, objective, and realistic.

The gap between Europe and the NBA is closer each day.

Europe is closer to the cream of Power 5 D1 basketball than it is the NBA. The only difference is Euros are stronger.

In this current EuroLeague.....16 team format, the best teams, and ACTUAL true European-wide league system.....

There is not a single NCAA Division I team that would not go 0-30 in the EuroLeague regular season. And I am 100% positive of that. I'm also not taking anyone's basketball knowledge or opinions seriously if they disagree with it.

The thing is, he doesn't need to become an elite scorer in order to be an elite PLAYER, because right now he's showing that he can basically be great at everything, including rebounding. Even if for some reason his scoring doesn't translate to the NBA, he's still going to have all the other things. And unlike Rubio, he's at the very least still going to have his shooting, meaning teams won't be able to leave him alone, which is huge, as we can unfortunately see with Rubio.

Btw., a bigger Ricky Rubio with a (much) better outside shot is a HOF type of player, basically a better Jason Kidd. Rubio is elite at everything except for scoring and shooting. Forget scoring, if only he had a 40% 3pt shot (and a small amount of post-up game to create even better passing opportunities in half-court sets) that's already a HOF type of player.

You have to be very, very low on Rubio to say Doncic seems like a bigger Rubio with a better outside shot and follow that up with "that might be a solid player". That'd be a GREAT player, a perennial All-Star type. You don't need to be an elite scorer to be great.

I really don't get how even to this day, there is all this Rubio love...in all honesty, Rubio would have the role Dontaye Draper has on Real Madrid (3rd PG/5th guard overall), under best case scenario, considering Draper is a much better defender than Rubio, and even Draper (no offense game whatever) is a better shooter than Rubio is.

It's insulting to Doncic that he keeps getting compared to Rubio. Actually, it's insulting to European basketball that Rubio is ever used as some kind of standard for any European talent - considering Rubio has never actually been a good player in EuroLeague, Spanish senior team, NBA whatever. His myth is based on what he did at 14-17 years old...

It's sad that Rubio has become a player bar or standard in USA for European players - extremely sad.

You guys do realize if you stuck Markelle fultz on RM right now he would be putting up even crazier numbers than Doncic? Sure he is a great European prospect but then to trash the American prospects just because Doncic is good is foolish. I'm pretty sure anyone that has watched Fultz would know he would also be in the MVP conversation if he had went to Spain instead of Washington.

Doncic is not in the MVP conversation in Real Madrid. Fultz probably would not even get playing time in Real Madrid. Can you guys please get serious here?

Doncic is averaging 8 points and 4 assists in Spanish League and 9 points and 4 assists in EuroLeague. There is absolutely no way that he is even being considered for an MVP award. Do you really believe that a guy averaging 8/9 points and 4 assists a game is in consideration for a league MVP award? You are taking some huge exaggerations being made by some European fans here, and taking it as being reality, rather than the hyperbole it really is, if you think Doncic is sniffing near league MVP awards.

Fultz.....an 18 year old 6-4 scoring guard (out of high school) is going to have "crazy numbers" in EuroLeague in a big club like Real Madrid...I can tell you right now, he would be lucky to see the court. Jaycee Carroll was one of the best NCAA shooters and scorers ever, and he lead the Spanish League in scoring more than once....he plays like 17-18 minutes a game for Real Madrid as a designated set 3 point shooter - do you not realize how hard it is to make your way in an elite EuroLeague club?

There is so much exaggeration in this thread from some European fans (way over the top exaggeration on Doncic's level) and then the same from some American fans (with way over the top underrating of European basketball and overrating of anything related to American basketball).

Guys, seriously now, is it really that hard to keep the discussion serious and objective?