page_title: Luka Dončić
section_title: Rise to prominence (2016–17)
hierarchical_section_title: Luka Dončić / Professional career / Real Madrid / Rise to prominence (2016–17)
caption_attribution_description: Català: Luka Dončić amb la samarreta del Reial Madrid en un partit a l'Olímpic de Badalona durant la temporada 2016-17.
context_page_description: Luka Dončić is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Slovenian national team.
  Born in Ljubljana, Dončić shined as a youth player for Union Olimpija, before joining the youth academy of the Spanish club, Real Madrid. He debuted for their senior team in 2015, at age 16, becoming the youngest in club history. Two years later, he led Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague title, winning the EuroLeague MVP as well as the Final Four MVP. Dončić was also named the ACB Most Valuable Player and won back-to-back EuroLeague Rising Star and ACB Best Young Player awards. He was selected to the EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team.
  In 2018, Dončić declared for the NBA draft, joining the Dallas Mavericks. He was selected unanimously to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won Rookie of the Year for the 2018–19 season. In his sophomore season, he was selected to his first NBA All-Star game.
  A Slovenian international, Dončić made his senior debut for Slovenia in 2016 at only 17 years of age; he would later be named to the All-Tournament Team after helping his country win its first EuroBasket title in 2017.
context_section_description: Dončić made his 2016–17 season debut on September 30, 2016, against Unicaja, recording 6 points and 4 assists in 19 minutes. He collected 3 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in an NBA preseason win on October 3, 2016, over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On December 4, he posted a double-double of 23 points and 11 assists, both season-highs, in a 92–76 win over Montakit Fuenlabrada. The game earned him his first ACB player of the week honors. Dončić scored a team-high 17 points in a EuroLeague victory over Žalgiris Kaunas on December 8, 2016. After recording 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a 95–72 win over Brose Bamberg on December 22, he was named MVP of the Round in the EuroLeague, becoming the youngest player ever to do so. He earned the same honor on January 14, 2017, after posting 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists to help beat Maccabi Tel Aviv. On February 9, Dončić recorded 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists to defeat UNICS Kazan. He scored a season-high 23 points on February 18, in the Spanish King's Cup versus Baskonia. After scoring 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in the 2017 EuroLeague Playoffs against Darüşşafaka on April 26, he shared MVP of the Round accolades with two other players. Two days later, he won the award outright, posting 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead Real Madrid to a EuroLeague Final Four berth. Through 42 ACB games in the season, Dončić averaged 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3 assists, and through 35 EuroLeague contests, he averaged 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. He was named EuroLeague Rising Star by a unanimous vote and also claimed the ACB Best Young Player Award.
caption: Dončić shoots a free throw for Real Madrid in January 2017.
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