Luka Doncic is coming off one of his best seasons in the NBA where his scoring, assists and rebounding averages all took a significant leap. It was a great representation of how far his game has grown over the years since he first started playing.
Looking back on his growth, Doncic’s mother Mirjam Poterbin shared a rare throwback picture of the five-time NBA All-Star as a teenager.
The picture featured a young Doncic, alongside his mother, wearing a green Slovenian jersey. The image was originally shared by Instagram user luka_global and Poterbin later reshared it on her Instagram stories for her followers to see. The mother and son were also in attendance at a basketball game at the time.
Back when the Dallas Mavericks superstar played for Real Madrid, when he was just 13 years of age, his mother was his manager. She was previously a beauty salon owner and used that background experience to be a guiding hand for her son’s decision-making process, as per PEOPLE’s Nasha Smith.
Doncic played through his deepest playoff run yet, getting past the LA Clippers, OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He eventually fell short of delivering an NBA Championship to the Dallas Mavericks franchise as Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics proved too hot to handle.
Despite the loss, his mother shared a heartwarming message on Instagram as she remained proud of her son’s efforts on the court.
In his first finals appearance, Luka Doncic put up 29.2 points (47.2% shooting, including 24.4% from beyond the arc), 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. His team got close to stealing Game 2 on the road and winning Game 3 at home, but they were eventually hampered by the Celtics’ execution.
For all of his efforts on the court, it was still not enough to lift his team past Boston as he could only do so much by himself.
Their final game of the season took place in TD Garden and their campaign was capped off with a 106-88 loss. He finished with 28 points, shooting 48.0% from the field, including 22.2% from beyond the arc. Doncic also added 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
