Luka Dončić had the final word Friday night in the Dallas Mavericks' 107-103 win over the Sacramento Kings.
After sinking the game-sealing free throw with 4 seconds remaining in regulation, Dončić appeared to direct his ire at former Kings general manager Vlade Divac, who was sitting courtside at Golden 1 Center.
Per Fox 40's Sean Cunningham, Dončić appeared to wave goodbye to Divac and, then as he returned to the bench, told his teammates and coaches "he should have drafted me."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
That would be in reference to the infamous 2018 NBA Draft, in which Divac and the Kings surprisingly selected Duke forward Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 overall pick.
The Atlanta Hawks selected Dončić at No. 3, then traded his draft rights to the Mavericks for the rights to Oklahoma guard Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick, which turned into wing Cam Reddish.
NBA
Bagley played three and a half turbulent seasons with the Kings before they dealt him to the Detroit Pistons prior to the 2022 NBA trade deadline. The Pistons traded Bagley to the Washington Wizards earlier this season, and he's averaging 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds over 47 games between the two teams.
Dončić, on the other hand, has looked like a generational talent from the moment he entered the league. He won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2018-19, is a five-time NBA All-Star and finished in the top eight in MVP voting the last four seasons.
Dončić is averaging an NBA-best 33.9 points per game this season, making him a top MVP contender. His near-triple-double (26 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds) on Friday helped Dallas (44-29) stay sixth in the Western Conference playoff standings and dropped Sacramento (42-31) in the play-in tournament seedings at eighth.
There's no telling how different the course of history might have been had the Kings drafted Dončić, but one thing seems sure: The draft-day slight remains on the 25-year-old Slovenian star's mind