Luka Doncic said he would have played at Arizona if he chose college basketball
In an X post by Overtime TV, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic said if would had played college basketball his choice would have been "Arizona, I heard it's a good time there." Doncic would have been in the class of 2017. That would have put Doncic on the same Arizona team as DeAndre Ayton.
Doncic played three full seasons with Real Madrid. Doncic was the youngest player ever with Real Madrid at 16 years, two months, and two days. In three seasons with Real Madrid, Doncic earned multiple recognitions. Doncic was the 2018 Euro League MVP and was named to the Euro League All 2010s team.
Doncic was selected third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Ayton was selected first by the Phoenix Suns and Marvin Badgley of Duke went second to the Sacramento Kings. Atlanta selected Doncic for Dallas and traded him for the fifth pick in the draft and a 2019 first round draft pick.
Atlanta selected Cam Reddish 10th overall in 2019 and Trae Young in 2018. Dallas clearly won the trade. Doncic won the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and has been named first-team All NBA for the last five years. Young is a three-time All-Star and has been named third-team All-NBA In 2022.
Luka said if went to college in the US he would’ve went to ARIZONA 👀 pic.twitter.com/R3mAcHYse7
— Overtime (@overtime) September 21, 2024
The thought of what if with Doncic on Arizona for a year is intriguing. Arizona finished 27-8 and lost in the first round as a four seed to Buffalo with their one season with Ayton. Rawle Alkins and Allonzo Trier who also played on the 2017-18 Arizona team played in the NBA.
Adding Doncic as the point guard with Alkins, Ayton, Dusan Ristic and Trier would have given Arizona one of the best starting fives nationally. Ristic has primarily played in the Euro League since leaving Arizona. Doncic was 6'7 and 218 pounds as a prospect in the 2017 class.
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Doncic averaged 21.2 points per game, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a rookie. Ayton was the 2018 Pac-12 Player of the Year averaging 20.1 PPG, 11.6 RPG and shot 61.2 percent from the floor. The tandem of Ayton and Doncic would have given Arizona a nearly unprecedented two of the top three picks in the same NBA Draft.