After hitting game-sealing free throws, Doncic says ‘he shoulda’ drafted me’ to former Kings GM

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.”

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.