Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic were talk of the town during the 2018 NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. Ayton went to the Phoenix Suns as the No.1 pick and Luka Doncic was sent to Dallas Mavericks as Atlanta Hawks traded him for Trae Young. Both the players met for the first time in an elevator on their way to meet the press.
What did Deandre Ayton told Luka Doncic during 2018 NBA draft?
Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic, both have similar interests as they bonded over video games. A video on social media is going viral where Ayton told Doncic about his favorite video game.
“I play Fortnite 24/7, bro. I don’t sleep at night. We’re going to play.”
Luka Doncic, who himself is an avid gamer, responded and told Ayton that they would play together. Deandre Ayton had a solid rookie season as he played 70 of 71 games and was averaging 16.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. After displaying his talent in the first year, he finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting.
On the other hand, Luka Doncic took the basketball world by storm. He averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He was shy of two votes in terms of winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Trae Young, for who he was traded for, prevented a unanimous ROY selection for Doncic.
Seven years after Ayton and Doncic bonded over video games, the former has joined the Los Angeles Lakers and will be teammates with Luka Doncic.
Luka Doncic got better off Deandre Ayton in only playoff encounter
During the 2022 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns were taking on Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals. For the Suns, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Deandre Ayton featured. After losing the 2021 NBA Finals to Milwaukee Bucks, the Suns were looking to finish the job in the following season.
On the other hand, Luka Doncic was leading the Mavericks which featured players like Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber.
The first two games were taken by the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks won the series at home. Game 5 was dominated by the Suns as they defeated Mavericks 110-80. But, the Dallas Mavericks made a superb comeback and won Game 6 (113-86).
The Game 7, which was do or die for both the teams lived up to the hype. The Dallas Mavericks were 46 points ahead and comfortably won the match (123-90) and stun the crowd in Phoenix. During that game, Doncic notched up 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Deandre Ayton had a game to forget as he recorded five points, four rebounds and two assists.