Happy Birthday Luka Doncic. Prodigy turns 22 today. This is his 3rd year in NBA arriving from Slovenia, Europe. Glittering lights are not new to him. He has been playing quality basketball since he was 13 years old. Boy has been playing with men since we remember. Luka started playing for Real Madrid senior team since he was 16. Luka led them to Euroleague title (arguably the second-best league in the world) and was both final four MVP and the league MVP. He has been generational talent, child phenom, prodigy you name it.
I am fortunate that I grew up watching another similar talent Sachin Tendulkar albeit everything was different. That was a different country, different culture, most importantly, completely different sport. Expectations they both had to deal with were also different in terms of number of people, but expectations were sky high for both. Sachin like Luka had everything going for him and his fame preceded his playing days. People were flocking to see that 14-year-old boy who went to step into the international arena by the age of 16.
Sachin managed to stay grounded and did very well for himself serving the highest form of the game for 24 years (unheard of in the modern days). He could have easily gone wrong, he wasn’t the first phenom, nor was he the last. There have been many more and none of them had their sun shine as brightly as Sachin’s. So, what worked in his favor, Indian middle-class values, strong family support, right opportunities. What worked for him was his relentless pursuit to become the best, his ability to innovate himself, his strong will to be counted amongst the greatest ever, those intangibles made him what he became. No one person or coach or colleague claim credit for his success.
Let’s move back to our protagonist. Luka has something similar brewing like Sachin, why I say that is because I have been fortunate enough to witness both these stars ascension. One might say Luka doesn’t have enough body of work, he is in a different generation, his exposure is much more global and the money flowing in would be much more as well but that is where I would urge the coaches, the media (most importantly) to not anoint him as next someone, let him be the first Luka. What the kid has displayed in the last 3 years and what YouTube fans have seen it before in Real Madrid is someone with unique ability to be a ball handler. This boy has drawn comparisons with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Lebron James – one might give up a limb just to be compared with one of them in their lifetime while the kid has drawn these comparisons not just once but continually with these four and many more legends who have inspired generations and that too in his first three years. What he has achieved statistically and in terms of consistency, is not comparable with anyone in the recent memory.
Luka is extremely important for the sport and for the global athletes. He is unparalleled with anyone else as he is a European in the American dominated sport, racially he is a white boy in the sport dominated by African Americans, he could be a true global icon that this world needs. He still has his boyish charm and likes to do the boy things like any teenager or someone in his early twenties. He is trying to adjust to the bright shining lights of NBA and fortunately, he is in a city like Dallas, isn’t where the who’s who of Hollywood or the glitterati show up every game and are competing for selfies. Another thing that helps is Dallas has managed another European superstar Dirk Nowitzki for 21 years although Dirk wasn’t anywhere a prodigy. He had worked hard to achieve his stature and took him very long time to earn respect. He was considered a soft Euro player while Luka has arrived with his swagger. Luka knows he is special and doesn’t mind being thrust in the brightest shining lights. Luka is more ready to take the last shot than Dirk was earlier in his career.
I wish Luka nothing but the best and hope that these two and a half seasons have been a trailer of things that are going to be unfolded and the magic that is ready to be displayed. As fans of the sport, fans of Luka, we want to achieve heights that no other individual has achieved but as they always say the road up the hill is always steep and gets tougher as you grow up. The fall isn’t that easy, but it is definitely not pretty, and Luka needs to surround himself with the right people who have nothing but Luka’s best interest and not their own. Life in spotlight is difficult and not everyone has strong eyes to withstand their brightness. Wish Luka magic continues for another couple of decades. If I were his advisor, I would have him read the case study of certain Sachin Tendulkar who balanced a billion plus expectations.
There have been many prodigies who couldn’t handle the life in the fastest lane and fell off the radar and left questions like what if? But then if wishes were horses, beggars would ride them and what if is not a question, instead the question should be why did that happen? Why was the world deprived of letting a generational talent unfurl in front of the waiting eyes and rather leave the world lamenting for the lack of? The generational talents need extra special care and most importantly, in this social media driven world, they need to be left alone.
Luka has too much potential and is icon for the next generation who will surely be influenced by his career choices. Dirk was grounded by Holger, his mentor and Sachin, by his brother Ajit amongst others. Both of them made their sacrifices for the greater good of their protégé. Luka needs a similar calming influence and someone who can be his sounding board and ready to put his career above everything else. Having said that, I strongly believe such generational talents are like Haley’s Comet who arrive once in many years and are sent to this world to entertain people the right way.
