“Made Me Cry”: Luka Doncic’s Emotional Confession to LeBron James Sends Clear Message to JJ Redick

When you hear, “sports in Europe is a whole different universe,” learn to believe in it. Because whoever observed and said this wasn’t bluffing. It’s not just the fans carrying musical instruments, banners, and bully banners to support their teams. But the discipline that the coaches bring to a team and its players is worth learning from. Coming from Europe, stars like Nikola Jokic, who doesn’t respond to fans’ trash talk because “I played in Serbia”, and Luka Doncic are a different breed altogether.

However, for Doncic, his beginner’s level back at home and in Spain wasn’t easy. Now, look, he was a teen back then, and fooling around seemed natural. But during a game? Bad choice! So, speaking about the impact his coaches in Europe have had on his career, the Slovenian superstar shared a rare story on Mind The Game.

“I think one example was we were up, it was quarterfinals or round 16. We were up at like 30 at halftime, but I was bull——– a little bit. He yelled at me. He made me cry,” the 26-year-old shared a halftime story with LeBron James and Steve Nash. “But I said like, this coach like changed a little bit of how I view basketball and like during the time. Like that year, I think we didn’t lose the game, and we won the finals by 30 points. I think everybody needs it. To be a really good player, you need that guy who’ll tell everything. Especially the coach. I love him for that, that he did that for me.”

Tough coaches are instrumental in a young player’s success.

Hear @luka7doncic explain his upbringing and how European hoops are different on part 2 of his Sunday special. Watch on our YouTube, @PrimeVideo or listen wherever you get your podcasts. pic.twitter.com/x2Jek2YFSQ

— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) June 7, 2025

It’s hard to guess which phase of his career this story belongs to. Most likely, it could be from his Real Madrid days, but it could also be from the time he was under the icon Igor Kokoskov for Slovenia. However, Luka’s emotional story could be a message for JJ Redick‘s next campaign with the Lakers in the 2025-26 season.

This is a developing story…

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