2018 NBA Draft: Luka Doncic made great case at EuroBasket 2017 to be No. 1 pick

Goran Dragic may have won the EuroBasket 2017 MVP award during Slovenia’s run to the gold, but it was 18-year-old Luka Doncic who stole the show throughout the tournament. It’s time to pay attention to him, Bulls.

During Slovenia’s nine-game run to their first EuroBasket title, 18-year-old Luka Doncic put on a dazzling display of excellence throughout each game, resulting in the do-it-all guard from Real Madrid looking like a legitimate No. 1 pick option in the 2018 NBA Draft.

As you’ve probably heard by this point in the calendar year, Jimmy Butler is gone. The best player for the franchise in the last three seasons and one of the top 15 players in the world has a new home. That means the Bulls are starting over and things are going to be quite ugly for a while. At least until the ping pong balls start spinning next summer and the Bulls’ chances at obtaining a high draft pick will be pretty great.

Enter Luka Doncic, who The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks described as possibly being “the best European NBA prospect of the 21st century“.

SB Nation‘s Ricky O’Donnell mentioned that Doncic could be “the best international NBA backcourt prospect ever.”

On the surface, Doncic’s EuroBasket numbers don’t look that impressive. He only shot 31.1 percent from 3-point range on 68 total attempts with a shorter shot distance line and shot a shade under 41 percent from the field throughout the entire tournament on 101 total shot attempts.

However, things change when you see that the 6-foot-8 point forward averaged 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in EuroBasket against some of the best players not in the NBA and was making plays like this one.

He’s a stat sheet-stuffer and is already proving he can play against men who are much older and much stronger than he is.

In terms of recent draft prospects, Doncic has some Lonzo Ball in him. When he’s on the floor, he makes his team better with his vision and ability to get guys easier and/or open shots.

His shot isn’t as unorthodox and as profiled as Ball’s jumper is, but his ability to make the right play/pass is what helps set him apart from a lot of prospects in next year’s draft class.

And, don’t let Doncic’s EuroBasket numbers be the only judgment of his shooting. He can step out and show that range from deep.

In just under 1,400 minutes of total action for Real Madrid — better known as the best team not in the NBA today — Doncic shot over 35 percent from 3 on his way to winning the Rising Star award as the EuroLeague’s best player under 22 years old. (That’s the award current Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic won twice during his time with Los Blancos back in 2010-11 and 2011-12.)

He’s only 18 and has already shown a canny ability to create for his own attempts. The Ringer‘s Kevin O’Connor captured this big shot from Doncic’s huge 27-point performance against current New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis and Latvia during the knockout stage at EuroBasket 2017.

Slovenia led 88-83 with just over three minutes left in the game and KOC pointed out that Slovenia ran two pick-and-roll looks to get Doncic specifically isolated on Porzingis. As good as New York’s unicorn is and as good as he can be, he’s a bit slower than Doncic, who isn’t exactly that quick on his feet himself. Doncic did a great job of creating the separation from Porzingis to hit a clutch triple to help ice the game.

Doncic also took Porzingis off the dribble earlier in the fourth quarter by using another isolation situation to get past Porzingis on his drive going right for a tough layup to put Slovenia up four.

Over the next nine-plus months or so, you’re going to hear, read and see a lot on Luka Doncic. He only played about 20 minutes a night for Real Madrid last season and his stock grew exponentially coming off the bench.

With a bigger spotlight on him heading into next year’s draft, there shouldn’t be any doubt that the Bulls will be keeping a close eye on his production and development over that time frame. The Bulls were extremely high on Mirotic during his time with Real Madrid after making a draft night trade to acquire and stash him, plus the Bulls have had some success bringing players overseas to play in the NBA with Ivica Dukan as the franchise’s director of international scouting.

Next: The Bulls' rebuild and the proposed draft lottery reform

Doncic isn’t a perfect player or a guaranteed slam dunk if the Bulls get the top overall pick next June, but he might be the best this upcoming draft class will have to offer.