This story starts in June 2018, when the NBA Draft went this way:
1. Phoenix: Deandre Ayton
2. Sacramento: Marvin Bagley III
3. Atlanta: Luka Doncic
4. Memphis: Jaren Jackson Jr.
5. Dallas: Trae Young
While Atlanta trading Doncic for Young will forever link that duo, in Sacramento this draft is remembered as a swing and a miss that set the franchise back years. How did then Kings’ GM Vlade Divac — a guy who knows the international game — miss on Luka Doncic? (Or, really, any of the next three players taken would have been the better call).
That brings us to Friday night, when Dallas completes a two-game sweep of Sacramento that almost certainly sends the Kings to the play-in. Luka Doncic sealed the game with a couple of free throws with 4.1 seconds left, then he waved to Divac and can be seen saying, “he should have drafted me.”
Luka Doncic as he puts away the Kings tonight in Sacramento with his final free throw, then as the final horn sounds, waves goodbye to former Kings GM Vlade Divac seated courtside and says "he shoulda' drafted me." pic.twitter.com/6j26cLprxA
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 30, 2024
That’s cold.
There’s been a longstanding rumor that Divac didn’t want to draft Doncic because of a beef with Doncic’s father. Divac has strenuously denied that.
The more likely reason is Divac broke one of the cardinal rules of drafting for the NBA: Take the best player, regardless of position (how much of a role ownership played in that decision is up for debate). One year earlier, Divac and Sacramento had drafted a future All-Star/All-NBA point guard in De’Aaron Fox, so rather than drafting another ball handler like Doncic or Young, Divac drafted for position and went with Bagley as a big to pair with Fox. Bagley never developed in Sacramento, and that pick set the franchise back until it had to give up a high-quality player (Tyrese Haliburton) to land a big that fit with Fox in Domantas Sabonis.
Whatever the reason, like all greats Doncic is turning a perceived slight into fuel and the Kings paid the price.
