The Sacramento Kings should have had Luka Doncic in 2018 — according to the Dallas Mavericks star himself.
The Kings infamously selected Marvin Bagley III over Doncic during the 2018 NBA Draft. Kings executive Vlade Divac made the call, passing up on his fellow Balkan native for the Duke product.
Doncic reminded Divac of his draft mistake Friday towards the end of the Mavericks’ 107-103 win over the Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.
With four second left in the contest, Doncic sank a free throw to put the Mavs up by four. The Kings took a timeout, which gave Doncic the chance to wave goodbye to Divac while walking toward the Mavs’ bench.
Doncic then appeared to repeatedly mutter “he should have drafted me” once the Mavs star got to the sideline.
Luka Doncic as he puts away the Kings tonight in Sacramento with his final free throw, then as the final horn sounds, waves goodbye to former Kings GM Vlade Divac seated courtside and says "he shoulda' drafted me." pic.twitter.com/6j26cLprxA
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 30, 2024
Doncic finished the contest with 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists on 6/14 shooting.
While Doncic has been in MVP conversations for years now, Bagley has been nothing more than a role player.
Bagley, in what feels like a badge of dishonor, was traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Washington Wizards — the two worst teams in the league — earlier this season.
To Divac’s credit, the Kings did make the playoffs last season for the first time in 17 years and have a chance to make it again this year. But Sacramento probably would have gotten there sooner had they indeed selected Doncic over Bagley.
