All-Star 2020: Luka Doncic ready for 'unreal' All-Star experience
Sunday 16 February 2020 12:09, UK
Dallas Maverick Luke Doncic is ready to savour his "once in a lifetime" experience of playing in Sunday night's All-Star Game.
Live NBA: 69th All-Star Game
The second-year guard was mobbed by media and rushed by fans as he arrived for the game's media day on Saturday, and the signs that Doncic has arrived as one of the game's best were undeniable.
LeBron James paid Doncic big respect by drafting him with his third pick - behind Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard - to Team LeBron despite being limited in the days before the game with a right ankle sprain.
In fan voting, Doncic was second to only James - 6.2m votes to 6.1m - but he was in modest mood ahead of his big moment in the showpiece game, which is live on Sky Sports Arena at 1am on Sunday night.
"It's something special," Doncic said. "To be here in the All-Star game is something special. I always dream about it as a kid and now I'm here. It's almost unreal. Maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I want to enjoy it."
Doncic is vying to carve his own path at age 20, as the Mavericks shift the face of their franchise from Dirk Nowitzki to the Slovenian sharpshooter. This weekend represents something of an anointing of the official arrival of the Doncic era in Dallas.
"When you get introduced as a starter in the All-Star Game, that's a pretty big deal," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "That will be a moment I'm sure that he will remember forever. You do it once, the goal will be to duplicate it and continue to get back there.
"The hope is that from a health standpoint, he's going to be feeling good."
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