Luka Doncic is one of the top prospects in the 2018 NBA Draft. On Thursday night, expect Doncic's name to come up early, but how early is the big question. Despite being praised as a prospect, there's still doubts about his athleticism compared to other high-end prospects in this draft.
CBS Sports Gary Parrish currently has Doncic going No. 4 overall to the Grizzlies. That's a fair spot for Doncic, because there are other great prospects like Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III going ahead of him. However, Doncic doesn't look it at it that way. He's already telling Yahoo! Sports that he's ready to prove anybody that passes on him is making a mistake.
Pick one to five, it will be amazing to be selected there, especially for a European guy," Doncic told Yahoo Sports. "I need to show it on the court, because I need to prove it. I can see who made a mistake not drafting me. After my rookie season, I will see who made a mistake. I'm motivated to enter the draft. I'm excited to play in the NBA and play against these stars.
Doncic needs that kind of confidence to succeed at the highest level and that's a level he's been playing at for years. Doncic has been playing against professionals in Europe and thriving. He doesn't do that without being confident in himself. So when he says that he's preparing to prove doubters wrong, before he's even been drafted, then that's a pretty good indication of what he thinks he can do at the NBA level.
It will be interesting to see what team chooses to take Doncic. Not only will they be getting a long and tall player who can play multiple positions, but someone that is coming in with the confidence to do better than everybody around him. That's the exact kind of prospect teams should be looking for. Someone with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove.
