Luka Doncic is only in year two of his NBA career, but he has undoubtedly made the rise to superstardom this season. Most would say that they did not see this coming this early into his career.

However, for Doncic's former Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso, the phenomenon of Luka-mania comes as no surprise to him.

In an interview with EuroHoops, Laso explained that the Dallas Mavericks star's character and maturity, and his ability to adapt is the reason why he has seen so much success in the NBA so quickly. The Spanish coach added that they saw these gifts from Luka Doncic ever since he was 13-years old.

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Chris Paul in normal clothes on left. Mavericks' Luka Doncic shooting a basketball on right.

Joey Mistretta ·

Mavericks' Luka Doncic, Mavericks' Kyrie Irving both in front. Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Brian Windhorst in background with eyes popping out looking at Luka and Kyrie.

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“Of course, Luka is one of a kind not only because of the way he sees basketball. And not only because he’s all about basketball but because I think he was very good at a lot of things. He has the character; he has respect for everyone. He is mature; he knows what to do at the right time. And this is why probably he’s having a great development in the NBA because he’s able to adjust to this situation. It simply comes to him. We saw this since he was 13-year old and arrived in Madrid. He was always ready to play. Always ready to help the team, any team that he’s been playing since that age, and he was always adjusting to the level that you put him”.

Take this from someone who watched him closely in his development years in Spain.

Prior to entering the NBA, Luka Doncic, at just 19-years old, was already dominating the EuroLeague, arguably the second best league around the globe. He became the youngest EuroLeague MVP in history and led Real Madrid to the 2018 championship.

All these accounts were already telling signs that the kid from Slovenia was going to be something special. It's still a wonder why Luka Doncic wasn't selected first overall in the 2018 draft. But whatever, the Dallas Mavericks aren't complaining at all.