NBA megastar Dončić signs supermax contract extension with the Mavs

Ljubljana – Slovenian NBA star player Luka Dončić has signed a five-year, US$207 million supermax rookie extension with the Dallas Mavericks in what is the largest guaranteed rookie extension in NBA history and the largest sports contract ever in Slovenia. Dončić told the STA on Tuesday he will continue to play for the national basketball team.

“Thank you for all the hard work and this is just the beginning,” Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, told Dončić at today’s press conference in Ljubljana.

Cuban came to Slovenia to present to Dončić the formal offer and celebrate the landmark signing, bringing along with him a delegation of team officials from Dallas, including Mavs head coach Jason Kidd and the team’s special adviser and former player Dirk Nowitzki.

Thanking the team and everyone who has supported him along the way, Dončić said: “I’ve always wanted this. […] This is an unbelievable day for me. I dreamt of this as a kid watching NBA games.” He also said he had never doubted he would sign the extension with the Mavericks.

Head coach Kidd said Dončić was a “special player, an extra set of eyes and ears” on the court. “He plays the game so easy,” he continued to praise Dončić’s abilities and talent.

The 22-year-old, who led the Slovenian basketball team to finish fourth at their debut Olympic basketball tournament in Tokyo, revealed the extension agreement was signed this morning in Ljubljana.

Asked about how he felt after signing such a massive deal, Dončić said he was still processing this. The extension, the biggest deal in Mavericks history and the biggest deal a Slovenian athlete has ever signed, will land him US$207 million or EUR 176 million. It also includes a player option in the final year.

He has also become the first player in NBA history to have signed the designated rookie max extension, a feat he achieved by being voted first-team All-NBA twice.

Cuban also touched on the coming NBA season today, saying: “I think we have improved our team considerably. We are all excited on going forward.”

Dončić was drafted in 2018 as the league’s third pick and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team as well. He also won the 2018-19 season Rookie of the Year.

Over three NBA seasons so far he has made the All-NBA First Team twice and boasts an average of 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists after playing 199 games in the league.

Dončić also made the All-Star Five of the Olympic basketball tournament and won the MVP fan vote.

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