Luka Doncic led Slovenia to a win at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday with one of the best international game performances you will ever see, and even the opposing coach was in awe.
Doncic scored 48 points in Slovenia’s 118-100 victory over Argentina. He fell just seven points shy of the Olympic record of 55, which was set by Brazilian Hall of Famer Oscar Schmidt in 1988. After the game, Argentina head coach Sergio Hernandez told reporters that Doncic “just destroyed us.” Hernandez had extremely high praise for the Dallas Mavericks star.
“He is the best player in the world, including the NBA,” Hernandez said, via Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “If there was any doubt in my mind, it is there no more.”
Hernandez added that Argentina tried everything they could to stop Doncic but that the 22-year-old is “not a normal player.”
While most people would probably consider one of LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo to be the best player in the world, Doncic certainly stated his case. Keep in mind that international games are only 40 minutes as opposed to 48 like in the NBA. Doncic scored 17 points in the first quarter alone. His 48 points were more than the entire Team USA starting lineup had combined in Sunday’s loss to France.
We saw some awesome reactions on Twitter after Doncic’s amazing Olympic debut. All eyes will be on him going forward in the tournament.
