Luka Doncic looks NBA-ready in EuroLeague semifinal win

Doncic played well and led his Real Madrid team to the championship.

Luka Doncic, the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, led his Real Madrid team to a 92-83 victory over CSKA Moscow in the EuroLeague Final Four semis on Friday afternoon.

The 19-year-old finished with 16 points, two assists and seven rebounds, which is a typical Doncic game. Now, Real Madrid will move on to the Final against defending champion Fenerbahce, which beat Zalgiris in the first game of the evening. The Turkish team boasts former NBA players Lugi Diatome, Jason Thompson and Jan Vesely.

Doncic was active in his usual ways against CSKA Moscow, slicing through the middle of the paint for lay-ins and scooping reverses.

Most impressively, he was able to shake off defenders toward the hoop, then pull back and launch around the three-point arc. He sunk 2-of-6 threes, and those are moves that’ll carry well to the next level.

Here’s a showing of how he scored all 10 of his first-half points.

The Final Four stage is undeniably a more competitive one than the NCAA’s tournament. Doncic went head-to-head with full grown opponents, not college students, and yet again succeeded. That’s why Doncic is believed to be the best talent in the draft, and at the least a consensus top-2 pick.

Doncic still hasn’t fully committed to coming to the USA, though. Ahead of his Final Four appearance, Doncic said he’d yet to make his decision. As one of the best young talents to possibly ever come out of Europe, he has a lot of leverage in where he lands in the draft. He could threaten to sign a long-term deal overseas if he doesn’t like the team he’s picked by.

That’s a conversation for the future though, with a championship game left to prepare for in 48 hours. A win would be “The Boy Wonder’s” first EuroLeague title, and possibly last.