Luka Doncic describes his mindset to Shaquille O’Neal going into the game: “Let the game come to you”
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks has been on an absolute tear this season, and there's a legitimate opportunity to be the MVP. What he's been able to do on both sides of the court, especially improving his defense, has been fun for fans to watch.
However, what Doncic does on the offensive side of the basketball can't be replicated by most NBA players. He's currently leading the league in scoring at 34.3 points per game and shooting an insane 50.7%.
Shaquille O'Neal has long been a fan of what Luka Doncic has accomplished and he's even hung out with him in his hometown before.
On the "NBA on TNT," Luka Doncic explained to O'Neal that he just likes to try to have the game come to him.
"Just trying to win the game and like you said, 'Let the game come to you,'" Doncic said.
"Just trying to win the game and like you said, 'Let the game come to you.'"
@luka7doncic breaks down his scoring mentality with @SHAQ https://t.co/GRkwKAbskG
Luka Doncic and Shaquille O'Neal's relationship
When Doncic and Shaq hung out, Shaquille O'Neal praised him for his hospitality.
"When I arrived at Luka's town, some people picked me up," O'Neal said in an episode of 'The Big Podcast.' "They drove me to a mansion that Luka had set up for me. I had the pizza there. I had the hookah. I had the fruit. ... They escorted me to the show, and then Luka said, 'Shaq, nothing's gonna happen to you in my town, Mr. O'Nealovich'
"That's what they call me over there. Shoutout to Luka and Goran Dragic for setting it up for me. ... I got there, and Luka said, 'We know you're staying in a hotel, but we want you to stay someplace else.' ... It was right there on the water, a four-bedroom villa."
Before Shaquille O'Neal and Luka Doncic were friends, there was actually a time when Shaq didn't necessarily think that Luka was as good as a ton of people said.
O'Neal respected Doncic's game but said that it was time to start slowing down a little bit because multiple players in the league could do what he was doing. However, O'Neal has said he was wrong.
“I just said calm it down a notch. That’s all I said,” O’Neal said in response to Charles Barkley who thought Shaq was mad of their celebration. “He’s great but I’ve seen it before.
“Listen. I’ve seen that before. His name is Stephen Curry. I’ve seen that before. His name is James Harden. I’ve seen it all last week. His name is Damian Lillard. Just calm it down a little bit, that’s all.”
It's a fun relationship between two of the best players who have ever stepped on a basketball court, and it's going to be interesting to see how much they continue talking in the future.
Continue to look out to see if Luka is going to be hanging out with Shaq in his hometown in the future as it seems like O'Neal had a ton of fun hanging out with him and Goran Dragic.