‘Marvin Bagley, a better player and better fit than Luka Doncic’: When Kings’ Vlade Divac justified leaving out Mavericks star

Raahib Singh | 01/11/2020
'Marvin Bagley, a better player and better fit than Luka Doncic'

An old video of former Kings GM Vlade Divac has re-emerged, where he explains why they picked Bagley over Doncic.

The Kings parted their way with their GM this August. The Sacramento Kings own the longest ongoing streak playoff drought. It’s been 14 years since they last were in the post season.

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All of this could have been different if only the Kings had picked a different player back in the 2018 draft. Back then, the Kings had the second pick in a loaded draft class.

The Suns took DeAndre Ayton as the first pick. The Kings had the second pick. They picked Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic and Trae Young.

“Better Player, Better Fit”: Vlade Divac justifies his draft selection

According to Vlade Divac, he picked Bagley over Luka Doncic because he was a better fit for the Kings roster. Divac also mentioned that picking Doncic may have hampered De’Aaron Fox’s growth.

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Everyone in the league believed that Doncic is a sure pick for the Kings. It was because the GM Divac himself is a Serbian national, and he knew Luka’s father Sasa.

Later there were reports that Divac doesn’t hold Sasa in high regard, and that may have had something to do with the draft selection. These rumors were discredited by Sasa.

Whatever the case may be, the Kings missed a chance to draft a sensational player.

Post Edited By: Utkarsh Bhatla
Kings Luka Doncic NBA Vlade Divac

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.

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