Former Kings GM Explains Infamous Luka Doncic Decision

Vlade Divac reveals why he passed on the future Hall of Famer in the 2018 NBA Draft

Mar 26, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) dribbles the ball up to the court against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings made an all-time terrible decision in the 2018 NBA Draft, selecting Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic at second overall. Doncic would be selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks before being sent to the Dallas Mavericks in a draft night trade. Most draft analysts knew selecting Bagley over Doncic was a mistake at the time and said as much. Bagley is barely hanging onto the NBA now, while Doncic has already made five First-Team All-NBAs and led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. The executive who made that decision to draft Bagley still isn't convinced he made the wrong decision, though.

Former Kings General Manager Vlade Divac sat down with the Croatian website Index and explained his decision not to select Doncic in favor of Bagley.

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“In that position, I had De’Aaron Fox, who I drafted a year earlier,” Divac said. “At that moment, I thought Fox was a player who could become a franchise player in the future. Time will tell if I was wrong. As things stand now, it looks like I am, but I have faith in young Fox that he will have a better career... Fox is a point guard who needs the ball, just [like] Luka. I could [have taken] Luka, but then I would have to trade Fox. I love watching Luka. I really love his game, but I had my own reasons for deciding the way I did. Maybe I was wrong, but time will tell."

Divac also addressed the rumors that he had a bad relationship with Doncic's father, sending him in a different direction on draft night, stating, "I know Sasa [Doncic] very well, I love and appreciate him. He even played in Kraljevo [as did Divac] when Luka was little. It has nothing to do with the relationship. I follow Luka and see that he is going the right way. I repeat, he will just have to watch his body.”

It looks like Divac is attempting to cover his tracks for a bad draft decision. Even if he didn't want two point guards, selecting Marvin Bagley over Jaren Jackson Jr. even made no sense. Jackson was an analytic darling in that draft cycle as a lengthy defensive forward with three-point range. Bagley was an athletic rebounder and couldn't do much else, drawing comparisons to a skinny Zach Randolph, who wouldn't be a good hypothetical player.

Even if you were to take Divac at his word about not wanting two point guards, Doncic has shown he can make it work. He made the Western Conference Finals in 2022, playing alongside Jalen Brunson, and the NBA Finals this past season with Kyrie Irving. Having multiple ball handlers on the floor has become an important facet in modern NBA offenses, but something teams hadn't adopted six years ago.

Divac stepped down as general manager following the 2020 NBA bubble, and the Kings selected Tyrese Haliburton, a point guard, a few months later in that year's draft. He'd be traded for Domantas Sabonis the following season but had some success playing with De'Aaron Fox.

The ship may have also sailed on Fox having a better career in the future than Doncic, as Divac speculated. As mentioned earlier, Doncic has already made five All-NBA First-Teams and two Conference Finals, while Fox has made just one All-NBA Third-Team and one All-Star Game in 2023 and hasn't lifted the Kings past the opening round of the playoffs yet. Fox is a talented guard but isn't the perennial MVP candidate that Doncic is.

Doncic is a player who holds grudges and made sure to let Divac know the Kings made a mistake passing on him. During the games in Sacramento last season, Doncic could be seen yelling "He should have drafted me" to Divac, who was sitting courtside.

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