This is for sure one of the biggest blunders in the history of the Draft! Maybe at the level of the Blazers in 1984 who selected Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan, or the Pistons in 2003 who preferred to bet on Darko Milicic rather than Carmelo Anthony or Dwyane Wade. We are of course talking about the decision of Vlade Divac, then GM of the Kings, to draft Marvin Bagley III rather than Luka Doncic. It was in 2018.
“At that position, I had DeAaron Fox, who I had chosen a year earlier”recalls the Serb in an interview with a Croatian media. “At that point, I thought Fox was a player who could become a franchise player. Time will tell if I was wrong. As things stand, it seems so, but I have confidence in the young Fox and I think he will have a better career.”
The Suns didn't pick Doncic either…
It's true that Fox has established himself as the Kings' boss, and that he has become one of the best point guards of his generation. But Doncic is a potential MVP, and Dallas has returned to the Finals with him. For now, clear advantage to the Slovenian.
“Fox is a playmaker who needs the ball, just like young Luka”Divac continues. “If I was going to take Luka, I would have had to trade Fox. Interestingly, Phoenix also declined to take Luka and at the time their coach was Igor Kokoskov, who was coaching in Slovenia. The Hawks picked him up. Only then did Dallas take him.”
Like everyone else, Divac “loves watching Luka” and he “really likes his game.” “But I had my own reasons for making the decision I did. Maybe I was wrong, but time will tell,” he concludes.
