Doncic believed Kings were going to draft him
When the Sacramento Kings elected to draft Duke big man Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, many were surprised they passed on EuroLeague MVP Luka Doncic.
Even the Slovenian sensation thought he was headed to Northern California.
"I did, I did," he said, according to The Athletic's Jason Jones. "Especially because they came to Madrid, we had dinner, so I did, at some point I did. But it didn't happen."
Doncic was a superstar overseas, posting the most successful European basketball career of any draftee in league history and leading Real Madrid to a EuroLeague championship at 19 years old.
Despite his success in a professional league, question marks surrounded Doncic's athleticism and ceiling. The skeptics apparently included Kings general manager Vlade Divac, who ignored the accolades despite closely monitoring Doncic's EuroLeague career; he decided to add Bagley to an already crowded frontcourt instead.
"Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him," Kings head coach Dave Joerger said, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "I don't see it, unfortunately for us. But he's great for them and he's great for our league."
The Atlanta Hawks snagged Doncic with the No. 3 pick and immediately traded him to the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he's quickly become the favorite for Rookie of the Year.
He's averaging 18.2 points, 6.7 boards, and 4.6 assists through 27 contests.