Luka Doncic, looked at by scouts as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has already achieved more than some players will in a lifetime. He's won EuroBasket with Slovenia this summer, two Spanish league titles in 2015 and 2016 and the equivalent of Rookie of the Year in both the Spanish League and EuroLeague last season.
For now, though, Doncic, 18, is playing with Real Madrid (yes, they have a basketball team, too) as they compete in both the Spanish League and EuroLeague, which tipped off on Thursday.
Doncic, to little surprise, was thrilling, pouring in a EuroLeague career-high 27 points on a hyper-efficient 9-of-14 shooting performance. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists to lead Real Madrid to an 88-74 victory over the Turkish side Anadolu Efes.
Check out these must-watch highlights of his performance:
Just look at this one. A little shoulder shrug to create the space, smooth behind-the-back dribble into the stepback, set the feet, swish:
Here he comes off the screen to the right, snakes his way back to the left by going behind his back as the defender comes to meet him, plants the right foot, steps back to create space and drains the mid-range jumper. Brilliant. You can't guard that.
Yes, the EuroLeague is not quite as good as the NBA, but after watching his array of offensive skills from just this one game, it's clear why teams are so high on the young Slovenian.
