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Who Is Sasa Doncic? Father of Luka Doncic With an Unknown Legendary Basketball Career of His Own

Published 01/19/2023, 12:29 AM EST

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Luka Doncic is having a dream of a season. With an average of 33.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 9 rebounds per game, the Dallas Mavericks star has arguably been unstoppable. The NBA world continues to witness ‘Luka Magic’ in disbelief and awe. While many claim that he is a being from outer space, unknown to many, the basketball gene runs in the Doncic family. 

 

Luka was born into a family of sports enthusiasts. However, the biggest influence in terms of sports in his life was his father, Sasa Doncic. Supposedly, it was because of Sasa that Luka was introduced to the game of basketball at a time when he could only crawl. Sasa’s influence was beyond just a mere introduction to the sport because he was a basketball champion himself. 

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Sasa Doncic, the father of Luka Doncic, and a basketball champ in Slovenia

Sasa Doncic, born in 1974, played basketball professionally for almost two decades. He entered the Slovenian league in 1993 and played for various clubs within the league. While switching between the roles of a shooting guard and small forward, Sasa bagged three Slovenian Cups and two Premier A League championships. Both are basketball leagues in Slovenia. 

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After having made his mark in Slovenia, Luka’s father played in the Euro League for one season. He flaunted the Union Olimpija jersey and played around 13 games for the team. In these games, he spent an average of 13.8 minutes on the floor with 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. 

Following his retirement, Sasa donned the hat of a coach and continues to coach clubs in Slovenia to date. Despite limiting his career to the continent of Europe, his skills and knowledge of the game were strong enough to influence his son. 

Luka Doncic’s fierce supporter 

On a personal level, Luka’s father has been always been a fierce supporter of his son. In 2017, when the NBA star bagged the EuroBasket title, his father watched on from the sidelines while also reporting about the game. 

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As reported by BasketNews, he was drenched in sweat for his son as his country was steps away from being crowned the champions of Europe. With victory at arm’s length, Luka walked off the court due to an injury. Despite this, Slovenia bagged their first EuroBasket title and Sasa was over the moon. He said, “I can’t understand what’s going on in my head right now.” 

 

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Watch This Story – Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and other European players who came to the NBA and rose to stardom

Did you know of Sasa Doncic’s basketball career before? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

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Written by:

Shriya Rajachandra

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Shriya Rajachandra is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. She earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Communicative English. Shriya previously interned at The New Indian Express, but her favorite journalist, Marcus Thompson motivated her to start writing about basketball.
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Edited by:

Veer Badani