NBA
Doncic declares for NBA draft, should go in the top five
The Real Madrid academy product has filed the necessary paperwork to be eligible for the NBA Draft in New York on June 21st.
There was never any doubt in reality but Yahoo report that Luka Doncic has declared for the 2018 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old, who is currently playing in the EuroLeague playoffs for Real Madrid, is expected to go very early in the first round and could go as the No.1 pick.
The deadline to declare for the draft, which takes place in New York on June 21st, is on Sunday the 22nd of April. The fact that he scrambled to declare means his agents were quite possibly in contact with a franchise who are interested.
Doncic has played with Real Madrid since 2014 and stands 6-foot-7 inches tall. He can still withdraw his name until June 11th if the right offer does not come along but that is unlikely.
He has been tipped to go in the top five by most draft sites. NBAdraft.net, for example, have him going number 4 to the Atlanta Hawks; Sports Illustrated have him going at number 2 to the Memphis Grizzlies; NBC, number four to the Orlando Magic; Bleacher Report, 2 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In addition to Doncic, other players to have played in Spain have declared too including Xabier López-Arostegui of Joventut, Romaric Belemene of Unicaja and Emanuel Cate, a Romanian who played in Real Madrid's academy for two years will also be eligible in June.