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Where Luka Dončić Grew Up: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Joshua Silvia
3–4 minutes
Luka Dončić in his Dallas Mavericks uniform — the Ljubljana, Slovenia native who signed with Real Madrid at 13 and won EuroLeague MVP at 19
Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
The short answer
Luka Dončić was born February 28, 1999 in Ljubljana, Slovenia — the country’s capital, population about 290,000. His father Saša Dončić played professional basketball for Slovenian and Greek teams. Luka attended primary school in Ljubljana before signing a 5-year contract with Real Madrid’s youth academy in Spain at age 13 in 2012. He played his first ACB game at age 16 and his first EuroLeague game at age 17.

A basketball family in post-Yugoslav Slovenia

Saša Dončić was a journeyman professional basketball player whose career took the family to teams in Slovenia, Spain, Greece, and Italy. Mirjam Poterbin (Luka’s mother) ran a beauty salon in Ljubljana. The family lived in Ljubljana’s Bežigrad district. Luka started playing organized basketball at the age of 7 with the Bežigrad Olympia youth program — an academy connected to the senior club KK Olimpija Ljubljana.

He was 6’2″ by age 12 and was already the most-watched youth prospect in central Europe. Saša Dončić’s professional connections included contacts at Real Madrid’s youth-development program. The family agreed to send Luka to Madrid at age 13 — the youngest a Real Madrid academy player had ever been admitted from outside Spain.

Real Madrid: 13-19, EuroLeague MVP at 19

Dončić moved to Madrid alone in summer 2012 — his mother followed shortly after. He played at progressively higher youth levels at Real Madrid: U-15, U-16, U-17, then the Real Madrid B-team. He made his ACB (Spanish first-division) debut at age 16 in April 2015, becoming the second-youngest player ever in the league.

By his 18-year-old season (2017-18), Dončić was Real Madrid’s primary playmaker. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in EuroLeague play, won the EuroLeague championship and was named EuroLeague MVP — the youngest player ever to do so by 6 years. He had also won three FIBA EuroBasket gold medals with Slovenia (2017, 2022, 2024) before his ACB career was even three years old.

The Mavericks heist on draft night 2018

The 2018 NBA Draft was the most-watched European-prospect draft since Dirk Nowitzki in 1998. Dončić was widely projected as a top-3 pick. The Phoenix Suns took DeAndre Ayton #1, the Sacramento Kings took Marvin Bagley III #2, and the Atlanta Hawks took Dončić #3 — then immediately traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young (#5) and a future protected first-round pick. The trade is widely considered one of the most-lopsided in modern NBA history.

Dončić won the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year. He’s been named to five consecutive All-NBA First Teams (2020-2024), one MVP runner-up finish (2024), and the 2024 Western Conference Finals MVP. The Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals (lost to Boston in 5). Slovenia retired Dončić’s national-team #77 jersey in a 2023 ceremony in Ljubljana — the first jersey retirement in Slovenian basketball federation history.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Luka Dončić and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

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