With this year's NBA Draft Lottery in the books, the Phonix Suns have risen out of the ashes with the No. 1 overall pick. It appears the Suns have already begun to do their due diligence on the prospects in the draft.
Among the notable names projected to go near the top is Real Madrid point guard Luka Doncic. According to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, Suns team owner Robert Sarver and Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones flew all the way to Serbia to watch Doncic play in person:
Luka Doncic in the starting lineup, with Phoenix Suns and #1 pick owner Robert Sarver looking on, as Real Madrid – CSKA Moscow tips off in the Euroleague Final Four in Belgrade. pic.twitter.com/chRmQSLtoy
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 18, 2018
Fortunately, Doncic did not disappoint. He finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists en route to a 92-83 win in the Euroleague Final Four. His strong performance should hardly come as a surprise. Later in the game, Bleacher Report's international reporter David Pick reported that 16 teams in total came out to scout Doncic.
Doncic has already been one of the best players in Europe for some time now. Aside from being a two-time EuroLeague rising star winner, he also helped lead his native Slovenia to a gold medal in 2017.
The 19-year-old is already dubbed as a top-3 prospect in the 2018 NBA Draft. That said, the Suns were not the only team to go watch him play in the flesh. Sacramento Kings general manager and Serbian native Vlade Divac was also there to watch Doncic. The Kings currently own the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
Despite the obvious interest from the NBA, Doncic has not fully committed to making the trip overseas. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see if that ultimately factors into where he winds up getting selected.
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