The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Tokyo Olympics: Luka Doncic, the star of Slovenia who scares the Blues

2021-08-05T05:44:05.624Z


The 22-year-old leader, NBA star, achieves breathtaking first Olympics. To see the final, the Blues will have to try to limit its influence


The most striking star of these Olympics has a crazy talent, evolves in the NBA, but does not come from a state which appears among the stars of the American flag. On the floors of the Tokyo Olympics, there is for the moment the Slovenian Luka Doncic and the others. And we cannot blame him for having arrived in Japan on the sly. For his first Olympic game against Argentina, the leader dried everyone by scoring 48 points, the second best total in Games history. A brutal entry into the matter. And lack of pot, the best scorer of the competition (26.3 points on average) stands on the road to the Blues to reach the final.

"He is the best player in the world, NBA and FIBA ​​combined," said of him, traumatized by the site left by the Dallas player, Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez.

The guy has only finished one game below 20 points since.

The aura he releases on the field and the weight on the game of his team, undefeated in its 17 selections, will force the Blues to draw up a targeted battle plan by their meeting on Thursday (1 p.m.) .

Top 4 in the world, a country of 2M people!

What a feeling!

🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮❤️❤️❤️ #mislovenci pic.twitter.com/bK0woXuDRT

- Luka Doncic (@ luka7doncic) August 3, 2021

"He is a good player, we will have to adapt and put different defenders and different defenses in front, underlines the pivot Moustapha Fall.

Something specific will have to be done for him.

"" It will be necessary to find the right balance: to control Doncic, not to let him score 50 points, but without sacrificing everything ", warns the French coach, Vincent Collet.

A Luka Doncic day in Dallas

Let's say that the positive point is that there are hours and hours of video to analyze, as the prodigy has been performing Dantesque performances for several years. Recruited at 13 in his native country by Real Madrid who smelled the phenomenon, the Slovenian rose with the turbo all the echelons of pro basketball. European champion with his selection in 2017, then winner and MVP of the Euroleague the following year with Real. At 19, Europe is already too small for the ambitions of the one drafted by the Texas franchise in 2018.

The international tricolor Kevin Séraphin, who had faced him during Euro 2017 (95-78 defeat of France), remembers this first meeting.

“At the time everyone was talking about him but I did not know him yet because I was in the NBA at the time, says the retiree from the prosecution.

He hadn't really impressed me that day despite the loss.

It was when I signed for Barcelona in (in 2017) that I realized who he was.

He wasn't the fastest, not the most impressive, but he took care of everything despite his young age.

He does impossible things.

There is always something unique going on with him.

I had no doubts about his ability to succeed in the NBA.

"

The 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP!



What a season from @ luka7doncic pic.twitter.com/QWNgutxJne

- Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) May 19, 2018

Same lemonade with the Mavericks, therefore, with this crazy impression left on the floors by this 2.01 m player, who can also play back, and loves all the balls of his team.

At 22, Luka Doncic has already participated twice in the All Star Game, the flashy meeting of the stars of the NBA.

“I do not watch all NBA games but I rarely miss his, continues Séraphin.

And we haven't seen anything yet.

He already dominates the game but he is still very young.

He is so intelligent that he knows how to adapt to each playing situation. If we defend on him, he frees up the spaces for his partners, but if we let him play it risks being even worse… ”

Off the field, the player wowed the local audience, and beyond. Dallas County has designated July 6 as "Luka Doncic's Day" to thank him for his sporting impact but also for his donations of money during the February cold snap and to help caregivers babysit their children. in the early days of the pandemic in 2020.

A good guy? It depends where. On the pitch, the Slovenian can be a ringworm, able to annoy his partners who do not give him the ball for the winning shot in the last moments or to attack the referees, including the whistle always seem to displease him. “I'm complaining too much, and I have to work on it,” he said this season. I just have to stay calm, and not talk to them. I must learn from it. It is at least reassuring that at 22 years old, he can still progress somewhere.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-08-05

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.