Luka Doncic praises NBA draft's first pick Paolo Banchero / News - Basketnews.com

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Luka Doncic, who won a friendly match with the Slovenian national team, singled out the first pick of the 2022 NBA draft, who became an Italian pride.

Luka Doncic

MIN:35.66PTS:29.03 (53.34%)REB:9.24As:8.3ST:1.28BL:0.56TO:4.38GM:80ProfileNBA2021/2022

Paolo Banchero, who holds Italian and US citizenship, was the first pick at the 2022 NBA draft. In addition, the 19-year-old has already expressed a desire to represent the Italian national team.

Doncic, who defeated Italy with the Slovenians 90:71 on Saturday, praised Banchero.

"I have been to Italy many times. The last 2-3 days have been great here," Doncic said in praise of Italy. "We have participated in many tournaments in Italy with the [Ljubljana] Olympia, so I know Italy very well.'

"Also, I watched the NBA draft, he's [Banchero] a great player. Sure, there's a lot of pressure for the first 5 picks, but I think he's an amazing player, he has a great head coach, and I know him very well, so I know he will give him an opportunity to prove himself."

Against Italy, Luka Doncic was the team's highest scorer with 12 points (4/12 FG), he also added 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Slovenia is preparing for the FIBA World championship qualifiers window, where coach Aleksandar Sekulic's team will face Croatia (June 30 in Ljubljana) and Sweden (July 3 in Stockholm).

The Slovenians are second in Group C with 2 wins and 2 losses.

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