The young Slovenian basketball pearl Luka Dončić celebrated a historic day in his career – he played in an NBA All-Star game.
Basketball fans were eagerly awaiting a star-studded game in Chicago, where a real mania took hold last weekend.
It all started on Friday with the Rising Stars match, with Luka playing as well. He impressed with a three-pointer right from the middle of the field!
He also met the former US President Barack Obama at a charity event before the showdown, which will surely remain in his memory.
The Rising Stars Game was followed by a Three-Point Contest and a Slam-Dunk Contest, and on Sunday it was the real match of the best of the best.
Luka is the second Slovenian, after Goran Dragić, to be given the opportunity to play in the All-Star game. He was selected by fans, basketball players in the league and reporters.
He came very close to being team captain. That role fell to LeBron James, who led the team to victory. The result was 157 : 155.
The defence in the match was not as important as keeping the spectators and basketball players entertained and scoring as many baskets as possible.
This year, the All-Star match was dedicated to the recently deceased Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
All of LeBron’s team basketball players wore a number 2 jersey at the game, which was worn by Gianna, and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s players had a 24 on their back, which was worn by Kobe.
Another good news for Slovenian fans – Luka has confirmed that he will play for the Slovenian national team in qualifying for the Olympic Games!
Points to Consider
- What does it mean to be the best of the best?
- Who or what is a rising star?
- What are you most proud of?
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The original version of this article was published on February 18th.
English translation courtesy of JL Flanner, Total Slovenia News, an English language website with news from and about Slovenia.