Age doesn’t matter, especially if your name is Luka Doncic: having arrived in the NBA at a very young age, the Slovenian phenomenon took little time to earn the respect and fear of his teammates and opponents. A dazzling career, in which Doncic missed all the stops. His early days at Real Madrid had already revealed what he was made of as a phenomenon, his years in the United States consecrated the man and the player.
At just 24 years old today, he is already a veteran, above all in his head, in his winning mentality, in his ability to lead the team and resolve the most tangled situations on his own. An all-round champion, whose roots and background are revealed in the book “Luka Doncic. The young man of wonders”, published by Kenness and written by Daniele Vecchi with a preface by Federico Buffa.
And seeing Doncic play is truly a marvel. “Luka Doncic is the cause of dozens of late-night video sessions among NBA staffs,” said Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams, speaking on behalf of the entire league. An impact never seen in international basketball for such a young boy: once he arrived at the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, Luka immediately demonstrated that he was a franchise man and managed to improve year after year. In the 22/23 season he was the third best scorer in the NBA, behind only Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.
A book not only about basketball, but also about geopolitics (the Balkan situation in the late ’80s and early ’90s is analyzed) and urban anthropology (places and family and cultural situations in which Luka grew up). All seasoned with important interventions, such as the preface by Federico Buffa, the analyzes of the journalist Michele Pettene, one of Doncic’s ‘discoverers’ in Italy, and the intervention of Marko Milic, former player and now Doncic’s personal trainer.
Comparisons between him and Larry Bird abound, such as instinct for the game, intelligence, talent and moderate speed. Luka Doncic, the youngest to amaze the latest generations of basketball fans, however seems to be only at the beginning. The best is yet to come, there is a lot of time and all the fans in the world are wondering how far Slovenian talent can go. Among the pages of the book “Luka Doncic. The young man of wonders”, there are already some answers between the past, present and future of a player who is already legendary.
Daniele Vecchi is a journalist, TV producer and Communication Manager from Ferrara. He has written 11 basketball books. Always in the world of sport, he collaborates with La Giorno Tipo, with the Lega Volley Maschile and with the CEV (Confédération Européenne Volleyball).
Book: “Luka Doncic. The young man of wonders” – 144 pages – price €16.95