Inside Luka Doncic’s secret private workout with Steph Curry
The Dallas Mavericks’ rookie has what it takes to succeed at the top level.
Luka Doncic (right) is averaging more than 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game more than halfway through his rookie season.Ever since he stepped on the court for the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic has been a budding NBA star.
Back on draft night this past summer, some 11th-hour wheeling and dealing ended in favour of the Mavericks procuring the Slovenian’s services.
Fast forward seven months, and the 19-year-old is now building his All-Star candidacy by making highlight reel after highlight reel while filling the stat sheet every night. Earlier this week when the Western Conference’s All-Star starters were announced, Doncic missed the cut despite earning more than four million fan votes.
Many signs point to Doncic potentially making the West’s roster, but should he fall short, reports say the skills competition still awaits him on All-Star weekend in Charlotte, in the US state of North Carolina.
Interacting with the game’s biggest stars is nothing new for Doncic. Long before there were thoughts about heading to his first NBA All-Star Game, Doncic arrived at a basketball gym in Pleasanton, in the US state of California, for a private workout with Golden State Warriors’ guard Steph Curry.
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A workout even Mavs owner Mark Cuban knew nothing about.
NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh recently went into full detail about the August pre-draft workout which was set up by Doncic’s agent Bill Duffy, who wanted the Slovenian prodigy to brush up against one of the NBA’s top talents. “For me, I just wanted him to be exposed to the excellence of Steph,” Duffy said. “Not just Steph’s skill, but appreciating the work that goes into it.”
Doncic endured dribbling and shooting drills, endurance training and more over a three-hour-plus session alongside Curry and his long-time trainer, Brandon Payne.
“I wanted to show him that someone at that level can take instruction too, be corrected,” Duffy said. “Brandon is up here telling Steph, do this, don’t do that, correcting him. I think someone like Luka, was like, ‘Woah – Steph is top 2-3 players in basketball and he has someone pushing him to be the best he can be?’ To be exposed to that, was special.”
One hour with Curry wasn’t enough for Doncic. Payne offered to end the intense workout after hour two, according to Haberstroh. And after the third hour, Doncic finally decided to call it quits – so they could all go upstairs and lift.
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“He’s smiling, laughing, having a good time,” Payne said of Doncic’s attitude during the session. “I think he’s just having a good time doing it. He felt challenged. Stephen just did it. Now, I want to beat him.”
That kind of work ethic has pushed Doncic to average more than 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game more than halfway through his rookie season. With that success, his popularity even rose to heights that saw Doncic earn nearly 400,000 more All-Star votes this season than Curry – who was named a Western Conference starter.
“Whether he makes it or not, he’s an All-Star,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said recently of the Mavs rookie. “Certain guys just stand out. You see what they do, you see what they mean to the game. If he doesn’t make it this year, he’s going to make it soon enough.”
Fans will find out if 2019 is “soon enough” for the rookie when the All-Star reserves are selected on February 7.