Luka Doncic and Igor Kokoskov were together in the Slovenia NT, when they won the European championship in 2017. Both came close to work together in the NBA one year later, after the Suns were to select first in the 2018 NBA Draft.
The Suns decided to draft DeAndre Ayton and Doncic slipped all the way to the third pick to get traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Trae Young.
Igor Kokoskov, who was the Suns’ head coach back in 2018, believes that if Phoenix had selected the Slovenian sensation, he would still be an NBA coach, as he said in a recent interview to SocractesDergi.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here with you today,” he said prior to a Fenerbahce’s game and then he talked about his development.
“There is a frightening momentum of development,” Kokoskov said, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated. “Last year he was one of the most talented players in the world but today he is among the few selected best basketball players in the world. It should not be forgotten that he is only 21 years old and he will be playing for 17-18 years with the prolongation of professional athletes’ careers.”
Luka Doncic became the youngest player to average 30/8/8 in his first postseason of his career and got his first playoff winning buzzer-beater in Game 4 of the first-round series with the Los Angeles Clippers.
