Luka Doncic has become one of the top basketball players in the world. The Dallas Mavericks superstar is arguably more valuable to their franchise than anyone else in the NBA.
For as great of a talent as Doncic is, he had many doubters when he first entered the league.
Jeff Teague told a story on his Club 520 Podcast recently about how he was not a believer at first and had to be convinced that Doncic was, in fact, the real deal. He saw Doncic as "lazy" and did not think he was "doing enough" to be considered one of the best.
Doncic proved him wrong.
James Johnson is another former NBA player who did not see the hype. Goran Dragic, who has a close relationship with Doncic, told Johnson that Doncic was "going to be the best player one day" while they were teammates on the Miami Heat.
"I'm like, yeah, right. How tall is he?" said Johnson on the OG Show. "I think Rick (Carlisle) had him at the four at the time. He didn't have any good games at the four. We were talking to (Dragic) again; I thought you said your man was nice. He said he's just not playing the right position."
Doncic quickly changed his opinion as well.
"Boom. Once Rick put him at the one, that man went wild. He had like four triple doubles in a row and 30-point games. I was like, your boy is a maestro," said Johnson.
It is understandable that even NBA players initially underestimated Doncic's talent. He played overseas, so they did not see much of him, and he is not extremely athletic. It takes time to fully appreciate Doncic's greatness, but once you see it, his skill is undeniable.
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