The magic of Luka Doncic came to a head last night when the Dallas Mavericks rookie made what could become a career-defining shot in spectacular fashion.
With just 0.6 seconds left in his team's Sunday's game against the Portland Trailblazers, Doncic caught an in-bounds pass and sunk an off-balance, corner three as time expired. Luka's insane shot capped off the Mavericks' 11-0 fourth quarter run and sent the game into overtime.
Although the Trailblazers pulled away from the Mavs in the extended minutes, Doncic's amazing shot adds to his growing mystique. After tearing up the EuroLeague as a teenager, everyone knew Doncic could play. But know one could have known just how quickly he would adapt to life in the NBA.
"We knew he was good," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said before the game. "How good, how fast, nobody knew. [Mavs general manager] Donnie Nelson had a very good grasp on the situation. He's felt for well over a year that he was the best player in that draft class last year. We've been in rebuilding mode, so we've been looking very closely at draft prospects during the season for the last two years—much more than I ever have. We're very pleased to have drafted him."
Doncic is leading all rookies in scoring (19.0 PPG) and inching towards the top of the list in other statistical categories, making this year's Rookie of The Year award his to lose. And of course everyone, including some of the league's biggest stars, have taken notice.
Halleluka indeed.
