Luka Doncic reminisces about his time in Madrid, evaluates Real's back-to-back chances / News - Basketnews.com

Luka Doncic named the things he misses the most about Real Madrid and weighed in on his ex-team's chances of winning back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the first time.

Credit: Reuters-Scanpix Credit Reuters-Scanpix

Luka Doncic started his career with Real Madrid at age 12 and left seven years later to become a global basketball icon and an NBA superstar.

Luka Doncic

Team:Dallas MavericksPosition:PG, SGAge:25Height:201 cmWeight:104 kgBirth place:Ljubljana, SloveniaProfileNewsStatistics

Doncic made EuroLeague highlights before he set foot in the competition, helping Los Blancos win the 2015 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament and earning Finals MVP honors at age 16. He made his EuroLeague debut in the 2015-16 season, averaging 3.5 points and a PIR of 6.2 in 12 games.

A year later, the current Dallas Mavericks superstarwas chosen as the 2016-17 EuroLeague Rising Star, posting 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and a PIR of 13.3 in 35 games. It all clicked in the 2017-18 campaign, as Doncic led Real to its 10th EuroLeague title and earned Rising Star, season MVP and Final Four MVP honors. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a PIR of 21.5 in 33 games.

"What I miss most about the club is just the teammates, the coaches, the guys that spend a lot of time with, even the medical staff, physiotherapists, all those great people," Doncic told Euroleague.net. "That's what I miss the most about the club."

Doncic reunited with Facu Campazzo in Dallas for a while. The two were teammates when Real won the EuroLeague title in 2018, and they played together again for a few weeks in Dallas before the Argentinian guard returned to the EuroLeague, joining Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. Campazzo came back to Madrid last summer by signing a long-term contract and Doncic thinks it was a smart move by Real.

"Well, Facu is very important. You know, he's a great player, a lot of energy, great passer, great scorer," Doncic comments. "So I think this was one of the biggest additions to Madrid. And they are going to need him."

Despite being the most successful team in EuroLeague history with 11 titles, Real have not been able to win consecutive EuroLeague crowns since 1967. Doncic believes it is always hard to go all the way again in consecutive seasons, but he’s optimistic about Real's chances to do so.

"For Madrid to win back-to-back titles, it’s going to be very tough. I think there are a lot of teams that are really good," he says. "But I'm confident. They have a great team, great coaching. So I'm confident in them."

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.