Luka Doncic has been making waves in the NBA over the last few years. Despite only being in the league for three years now, Luka has done so much during that time. Doncic was one of the best players in Europe before he came to the NBA. And despite the initial doubts and skepticism over his potential to succeed in the NBA, Doncic has gone on to solidify himself as an elite star.
Looking back, it seems unfathomable that Doncic was not the consensus first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. But that is exactly what happened when the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings passed up on Doncic in order to select DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III ahead of him.
In fact, it was another European sensation who chose to let Doncic go. Vlade Divac, the former All-Star for the Sacramento Kings, was working in the front office for the franchise as the general manager. Divac used the Kings’ second overall pick to select Bagley, and let Doncic go.
For Divac, his decision has been criticized with the benefit of hindsight. But later, Divac did admit that Doncic was the most complete player in the draft class, and the Mavericks landed the perfect player for their team. Despite this, he still maintained the Kings made the right decision to select Bagley over Doncic.
“Luka is a great talent, he was more ready than any other kid in his [draft] class, and it’s [a] great fit for Dallas.”
Divac has noted on multiple occasions since the 2018 NBA Draft that it was his decision to select Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic, and that he doesn’t regret it because Bagley has the potential to become a superstar in the league. And while Bagley is still young in his career, and has time to grow into the superstar that Divac and the Kings expect him to be. But the Kings’ future could be very different if they had Luka Doncic in their team.
