Luka Doncic has made the NBA playoffs for the first time, and he recognizes participating in the league’s postseason will be different compared to his past experience.
Doncic played in Spain before coming to the NBA in 2018 and was the EuroLeague MVP that year. He is in his second season with the Mavericks, who went 43-32 this season to earn the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs this year. Their task will be to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, and that won’t be easy.
“Yeah, it’s the playoffs. I’ve been in playoffs before, just in Europe. It’s not the same level but it’s the same emotions and I’m excited for it for sure,” Doncic said of the playoffs, via EuroHoops.net. “I’m gonna lean on that. It’s tough to play in Europe too. A way higher level in the NBA but the same emotion, so you gotta be ready.”
The Mavericks begin their series with the Clippers on Monday. It is a best-of-seven format, with the teams set to meet every other day in Orlando. Doncic should be well prepared for the series given how he played in the seeding portion of the NBA’s restart. In eight games, he had three triple-doubles and was two rebounds shy of two more. One of their games was a 15-point loss to the Clippers that they will look to rebound from.
