To no one's surprise, the NBA officially crowned Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year at the NBA Awards Show on Monday night.
With a spectacular year already under his belt, expectations have risen for the Slovenian phenom. Mavs teammate Maxi Kleber believes Doncic needs to step up his game as teams will surely game plan for him next season:
“I think expectations will be even bigger now,” Kleber said per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “And now, every team knows him better. He will be getting the best defenders on him, all the time. So things will change.
“But he’s so talented and so good and he’s working hard, he should take the next step and I think that’s what we all expect of him.
Doncic averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in his debut campaign. He became just the second player ever along with Oscar Robertson to average 21-7-6 in his rookie season.
The Real Madrid star came into the NBA as arguably the most highly touted prospect ever from Europe. Coming off the youngest MVP season in EuroLeague history, Doncic immediately took the NBA by storm from Day 1 and shattered the lofty expectations set for him.
Doncic was no ordinary rookie. He was a professional for four years before even stepping foot in the NBA. It's no secret why he looked so poise and confident out there with the best players in the world.
But of course, people are never satisfied. Expectations for Luka Doncic will surely skyrocket once again next season. He will have to prove naysayers wrong all over again as he begins to take the next step into superstardom and lead the Mavs into the playoffs.
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