Luka Doncic shares advice Kobe Bryant gave him after he was drafted

Luka Doncic recently discussed a plethora of topics with JJ Redick on The Old Man and the Three podcast. And he recalled one of his first interactions with Kobe Bryant. “I met him before; it was in Portland just after I was drafted, it was the Nike campus,” Doncic said on the March 18 episode. “He was there, and the one advice he gave me was, ‘Watch out, they’re gonna come after you because you’re from Europe. They’re gonna try and go after you.’ And it was true.” It seems Doncic believes that some players have attempted to go after him in games because of his international success. But whether they have actually targeted him or not, it hasn’t seemed to faze him.
Source: Sportscasting

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
📅 On this day in 2010, the @Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 15,000 career points (age in years-days):
James (25-079)
Kevin Durant (26-078)
Kobe Bryant (27-136)
Wilt Chamberlain (27-156)
Carmelo Anthony (27-234) pic.twitter.com/7ebEdeeY0x – 12:01 PM Noah Levick @NoahLevick
Updated Sixers-Mavs observations, including:
-“Careless” turnovers one negative from another great Embiid night, but they’ve been rare this year
-Embiid on goal of being “extremely fresh” for playoffs
-Defense on Doncic, Harden’s impact, more
nbcsports.com/philadelphia/s… – 9:33 AM Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
The New York Knicks part ways with Croatian forward Luka Samanic #NBA
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 4:42 AM Ky Carlin @Ky_Carlin
Luka Doncic shot 5/20 for 17 points tonight. How did philadelphia slow him down? The team explains how they did so in the win. #Sixers sixerswire.usatoday.com/lists/sixers-d… via @SixersWire #NBA – 11:32 PM Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
Luka Brajkovic is going to make so much money in the German League. Just an absolute monster inside. – 11:20 PM John Hollinger @johnhollinger
Dont think he’s an NBA guy but Luka Brajkovic is a 10-year starter in the Adriatic League. – 11:06 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Full credit to Philly. Whatever issues Embiid and Harden might have been having seemed to go away from the 2nd qtr on, and their zone which seemed to morph from a 2-3 into a 1-3-1 was something Mavs could never solve. It certainly got Luka out of his comfort zone. – 9:43 PM Keith Pompey @PompeyOnSixers
#Sixers coach Doc Rivers on what went into the decision to go to a zone defense vs. the #Mavs. Luka Doncic shot 5-for-20 tonight. pic.twitter.com/aN81xraWYB – 9:40 PM Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Impressive win for the 76ers, who beat the streaking Mavs behind 32 points and eight rebounds from Joel Embiid, 24 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists for James Harden, and holding Luka Doncic to just 5-for-20 shooting from the field. Up next for Philly is Toronto here Sunday. – 9:19 PM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
There won’t be another clutch Mavs miracle tonight in Philly. Jason Kidd emptied the bench with 2 1/2 minutes left. Tough shooting night for Luka Doncic (17 points, 5-20 FG). – 9:18 PM Michael Dugat @mdug
These are definitely rare, but Luka just bad for the vast majority of the night – 9:15 PM Ky Carlin @Ky_Carlin
Luka Doncic is shooting 4/18 tonight. Philadelphia has played him tough all night and they’ve made life miserable for him. #Sixers – 9:13 PM Gina Mizell @ginamizell
Luka was just shooting the ball right at the rim — and then boinked it off his head when one didn’t fall — during that stop in play. Been a rough shooting night for him (4-of-16). – 9:10 PM Michael Dugat @mdug
Mavs were lucky to stay in it as long as they did with Luka’s game tonight. – 9:00 PM Michael Dugat @mdug
Luka playing a bit like ass so far – 8:51 PM Michael C. Wright @mikecwright
Luka Doncic is 3-14 for 13 points. Still think he goes off in 4Q. – 8:49 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Halftime deficit? In BOS & BKN, it was no problem for Mavs. We’ll see in Philly as they trail 58-53.Embiid & Harden combining for 23 of Philly’s 32 in 2nd qtr as they overcome a pair of 7pt deficits. Embiid 21, Harden 15. Brunson 15, Doncic 13. 2nd half soon @theeagledallas – 8:18 PM Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Halftime: Sixers 58, Mavs 53. James Harden, after a rough first quarter, made all three shots he took in the second, and also made a couple of nice defensive plays. Joel Embiid was dominant, and has 21 and 5 at the break. Luka Doncic has 13 but went 3-11. Jalen Brunson has 15. – 8:12 PM Michael C. Wright @mikecwright
Luka made a business decision on that Embiid dunk. Don’t blame him one bit. – 7:59 PM Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
After 1 here in Philly: Mavs 27, 76ers 26. Luka Doncic with nine points for Dallas, and Joel Embiid leads Philly with 7. James Harden, who is shooting 24-for-74 overall and 9-for-33 from 3 over his last five games, has started out 0-for-3 tonight. – 7:39 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Mavs starters: Dinwiddie, DFS, Powell, Brunson, Doncic
Philly starters: Thybulle, Harris, Embiid, Harden, Maxey
6:10 tip @theeagledallas – 6:33 PM Gina Mizell @ginamizell
Matisse Thybulle on defending Luka Doncic: “You really don’t slow him down, because he moves at a snail’s pace. It’s just being physical with him, because he’s such a big guard. The small movements he does is all he really needs to create advantages.” – 12:27 PM Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
The new Jackie Mac podcast Icons Club is out now!
Prologue with a Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant story: open.spotify.com/episode/03AweG…
Part 1 on Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and the stars who laid a foundation for the game today: open.spotify.com/episode/3uJ90a…
🏀@ringer🏀 – 12:16 PM Mike Lynch @SportInfo247
An interesting Shaheen Holloway nugget from @MikeSielski ‘s Kobe book. Even involves coach Cal (Ketner) pic.twitter.com/6Q1UZMx2Eo – 10:28 PM Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
James Harden and Kobe Bryant now have identical 24.99 points per game career scoring averages. – 10:06 AM Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
📅 On this day in 2007, the @Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant scored 65 points in a 116-111 win over the Blazers, the highest point total by an opposing player versus the Blazers.
Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players in NBA history to score at least 65 points in multiple games. pic.twitter.com/3bUJrOqO9K – 1:01 PM

More on this storyline

A sculptor in Los Angeles has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant by placing a statue of the two at the site where they tragically passed away in 2020. The artist, Dan Medina, tells TMZ Sports he created the 160-pound bronze figure and pulled it up to the scene in Calabasas via a wagon on Wednesday. -via TMZ.com / January 26, 2022 The sculpture is only a temporary piece — Medina says he’ll haul it back down at sunset — but the artist tells us he’s hoping the city will allow him to put up a larger, more life-sized version permanently at the site. -via TMZ.com / January 26, 2022 Vince Carter: I’m thankful to see another year of life but it’s really tough to celebrate when the world lost a great human being on this same day. Rest well Kobe the world is truly missing a great one. So on this day I celebrate you & I say thank you for the battles & the friendship.#8/24 pic.twitter.com/3eLr9cT6gS -via Twitter @mrvincecarter15 / January 26, 2022