Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has been touring Europe with the Jordan Brand, and recently, Simply British Ballers caught up with him. They tasked Doncic with making his all-time European starting five to take down one made of U.S. players, and this is what he came up with.
Point Guard: Sergio Llull
Shooting Guard: Drazen Petrovic
Small Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki
Center: Nikola Jokic
The U.S. lineup that was put together consisted of Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Shaquille O’Neal. Doncic knew this was over as soon as Curry was mentioned and admitted his team would lose. They definitely would.
Doncic could have gone with himself at point guard, but he chose Sergio Llull. Llull has won the EuroLeague thrice and was named MVP in 2017. The 38-year-old made the EuroLeague 25th Anniversary Team as well. Llull also won nine Liga ACB (Spanish top division) titles and was named Finals MVP twice.
The Denver Nuggets had selected Llull with the 34th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and his rights would be acquired by the Houston Rockets soon after. The Rockets attempted to bring the guard over to Houston, but he remained in Europe.
The Rockets would then trade his rights to the New York Knicks in 2020, but it’s safe to say Llull won’t be playing for them either. He has been with Real Madrid since 2007 (played alongside Doncic) and is likely retiring with the team.
As for the international stage, Llull has won one silver and one bronze medal with Spain at the Olympics. He has won three gold medals in EuroBasket and one in the World Cup.
Doncic went with Drazen Petrovic at shooting guard, and he did cross the pond to play in the NBA. Petrovic won two EuroLeague titles, after which the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the 60th pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He’d only make the trip to Portland in 1989 and didn’t make an impact straightaway.
It was only after a trade to the New Jersey Nets in 1991 that the NBA saw the best of Petrovic. In the 1992-93 season, the Croatian averaged 22.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game and made the All-NBA Third Team.
Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of Petrovic in the NBA. He tragically passed away in an accident on June 7, 1993, in Germany.
To go with these accomplishments, Petrovic won a silver and a bronze medal in the Olympics. He also won one bronze and one gold medal in EuroBasket and the World Cup. Petrovic was named World Cup MVP in 1986 and EuroBasket MVP in 1989.
We now get to some more familiar names, with Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo slotting in at small forward. Antetokounmpo has won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, two MVPs, and one DPOY. He has put up excellent averages of 24.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in his NBA career.
Antetokounmpo also won a bronze medal on the international stage by leading Greece to a third-place finish in EuroBasket 2025. It was one of his greatest accomplishments.
Doncic went with his former Dallas Mavericks teammate Dirk Nowitzki at power forward. Nowtizki won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, and one MVP in his career. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game over 21 seasons in the NBA.
Nowitzki won the bronze medal in the 2002 World Cup with Germany and the silver medal in EuroBasket 2005. He was named MVP for both tournaments.
Lastly, we get to Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. Jokic has won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, three MVPs, one rebounding title, and one assists title. He has averaged 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the NBA.
On the international stage, Jokic has won a silver medal and a bronze medal in the Olympics with Serbia.
All in all, those are some impressive resumes.
Luka Doncic On NBA And EuroLeague
Unlike Antetokounmpo, Nowitzki, and Jokic, Doncic played in the EuroLeague before coming over to the NBA. He was even named MVP in 2018 and is more qualified than most to talk about the leagues. So, some interesting questions were posed to Doncic by basketball player and content creator Lukas Simoner, and he had to pick between the NBA and the EuroLeague.
Q: “Harder to score?”
Luka Doncic: “EuroLeague. Because of rules.”
Q: “Better atmosphere in the arena?”
Doncic: “EuroLeague.”
Q: “More physical game?”
Doncic: “NBA.”
Q: “And more athletic players?”
Doncic: “NBA.”
Doncic has explained in the past as well why he believes it is easier to score in the NBA than in Europe. The six-time All-Star pointed to the defensive three-second rule as the reason why it is easier.
Doncic pointed out that he knows the center has to leave the paint at some point, and that’s when he attacks. The rule does make life much easier for players on offense, but the NBA isn’t going to get rid of it.
