Darko Rajakovic explains Raptors' uniqueness, names Wembanyama's weak spot / News - Basketnews.com

Darko Rajakovic talked about what makes the Toronto Raptors a unique case in the NBA realm and explained why stopping Luka Doncic is impossible. He also weighed in on Victor Wembanyama's potential and where the Frenchman can improve.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

Darko Rajakovic became only the second Serbian coach to be entrusted with an NBA head coaching position after Igor Kokoskov.

Points this season

47%112,0Points made:112,0Accuracy:46,9%Place in standings:19Record max:142Record min:91Best scorer:Pascal SiakamTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The Toronto Raptors are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference with an 8-8 record and keep their playoff chances intact.

"Toronto is definitely different from the other 29 team, with the first reason being that the team that does not represent the city of Toronto, but the entire state of Canada," Rajakovic said in an interview with Blic.

"All 35,000,000 people who live here are big fans of the team, while in every other market (Los Angeles, Charlotte, New York), only the local team has the city's support. Here the whole country stands behind the team, there is a huge media market, so everyone pays great attention to the team and everything that happens around the team," the Serbian expert argued.

"Masai Ujiri is our president. He lived in Belgrade, he has great respect for European and Serbian basketball, so he feels international throughout the city and the organization, which definitely pleases me. We have excellent communication, excellent cooperation, we have the same vision for our team and how it should be developed."

When the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 111-110 on November 4, Luka Doncic scored 35 points, his eighth consecutive game of at least 30 to begin the season. The only other NBA player to score 30 or more points in the first eight games of a season was Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in the first eight of the 1959-60 season and the first 23 of 1962-63.

Rajakovic is delighted with the Slovenian's style of play.

"OG Anunobi is one of the best defenders in the league and he had to guard Luka in that match. Luka is such a player that there is no way you can stop him. He is so skilled and excellent at penetrating, excellent at shot-making, and pick-and-rolls.

Toronto Raptors / Schedule

Toronto Raptors Detroit Pistons142-113 Orlando Magic Toronto Raptors126-107 Indiana Pacers Toronto Raptors131-132 Toronto Raptors Chicago Bulls121-108 Cleveland Cavaliers Toronto RaptorsMon00:30 Brooklyn Nets Toronto RaptorsWed00:30 Toronto Raptors Phoenix SunsThu00:30

We tried to slow him and the game down, we played pretty well offensively, and scored a lot of points. When I play against Luka, it's a special experience for me, because every coach wants that kind of challenge in his career -- to try to find a way to win that game."

The 44-year-old coach is no less impressed with what Nikola Jokic is doing and believes that he can push the Denver Nuggets to a new Final series.

"Nikola definitely marked the beginning of the new season," Rajakovic pointed out.

"He is playing at a very high level. It's really inspiring to watch him take the whole Denver team to another level. I think there will be a few teams that can compete for the title. In the Eastern Conference, there are Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. In the West, to me, Denver is the biggest contender."

WhileNikola Jokic and Luka Doncic dominate the NBA, Rajakovic said he expects Victor Wembanyama to be one of the best players in the years to come.

"Wembanyama is really a generational talent," he stressed.

"That kind of height, coordination, skill, dribbling, shooting is unprecedented. That has never existed in basketball and I really think he will have a fantastic, great career. The most important thing for him is to continue to develop his body and strengthen it," Rajakovic continued.

"According to what I hear, he is really very focused on it. He is a great worker and a good guy, so I think he will be one of the most dominant players in the league in the next decade," Rajakovic concluded.

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