Real Madrid won a record-extending 15th Champions League title with a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, and Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was watching.
“HALA MADRID Y NADA MAS!!!” exclaimed the Mavericks guard on social media.
Doncic of course got his start as a teenager with Real Madrid before joining the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. He signed a pro contract with Real Madrid at the age of 13 and left his family behind in his native Slovenia to move to Spain and pursue his hoop dreams.
By 19, he was the best player on the continent and led the Spanish team to the 2018 EuroLeague title in Belgrade.
For his efforts, Luka was named MVP of the Euroleague and MVP of the Final Four, averaging 16 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists.
The future Mavericks star was also named the ACB Most Valuable Player and won back-to-back EuroLeague Rising Star and ACB Best Young Player awards before being selected to the EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team.
Second-half goals from Dani Carvajal, the full-back's first Champions League goal since 2015, and a Vinícius Júnior strike on 83 minutes sealed Madrid's win and clinched a fifth Champions League success for coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday, furthering a record already held by the former AC Milan coach.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks ready for NBA Finals
The 2024 NBA Finals is all set and will feature the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.
It projects to be one of the more exciting NBA Finals in recent memory, featuring no shortage of underlying storylines, including Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis facing their old teams. Doncic appearing in his first NBA Finals is a big story in and of itself as well.
Boston is the favorite, but Dallas has consistently found a way to upset favored teams throughout the playoffs so far this postseason.
Having Doncic and Irving on the same roster is the equivalent of having two baseball's most dominant closers in the same bullpen. The two players are great but perform even better under the pressure of the bright lights.
Shaquille O'Neal made an interesting point while speaking on TNT's Inside the NBA after the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday. Shaq wondered who will guard Doncic.
“The Celtics do not have three or four guys that can guard Luka,” Shaq said. “I like Dallas in this series… This is like my first time seeing him (Doncic) a lot. Big body, bigger than I thought he was. Stronger than I thought he was. Once he gets you on the side, sort of like a big man, he does whatever he wants…Plays with poise and he can't be shook. The fact that he's been a professional player since he was 13 years old, nothing shakes him. I don't see anybody on Boston dealing with that.
“Maybe (Jayson) Tatum but if I'm Boston I don't want to get Tatum or (Jaylen) Brown into foul trouble. I think the other guys too, you know Jrue Holiday is too little in my opinion.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Celtics is on June 9.
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