A stream of cheers from the people in the crowd at Paris’s Quai 54. These passionate people know that France, Slovenia, the United States, and other places they have not named yet are home. 

They are loud, lively, and powerful enough to make the portable court that Jordan Brand built right under the Eiffel Tower shake a little. This love spreads above the red and blue of the 94×50, past the Tower, and to the rest of the world, where people are eagerly waiting for news on the internet. The tune of cheers and the beat of clapping are for Luka Doncic to arrive. 

Doncic walks in from the right side of the stage wearing his first brand shoe, the Jordan Luka 1. A small group of people follow him to center court in the “Quai 54” hue. The Tower is in the background as he smiles big. He then puts on some sunglasses, finds a place, and gets ready to watch a play-off game between a French team and a team from his home country of Slovenia. 

The noon sun is trying to get more attention than Doncic in the worst way possible. The sun is beating down nonstop, and there are no clouds or breezes to cool things down. The only good thing about the weather is that the cerulean foliage is so extremely beautiful. The buildings in Paris were designed to look beautiful. Not many buildings block the view of the sky’s beauty. 

The huge crowds of fans do not seem to mind the scorching July sun. Some of them know about Doncic because they watch the Dallas Mavericks. Some people found out about him by watching Real Madrid. A very small group of lucky people learned about him by seeing him in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on the streets and in the courts. He does not care about what we expect from him, that much we know. He lives in the unexpected. These hasty decisions he makes with the ball every two seconds are now lasting a lot longer than two seconds. There are a lot of Luka fans in Paris and all over the world who have come to hold on to those short times when magic seems to be real. Whether the fans are from France, Slovenia, the United States, or somewhere else, the many differences that they think exist in their lives are made easier by the fact that they can all see the same thing: Luka Doncic’s talent on the basketball court. 

At this point, every road leads to Luka. Lots of his friends are telling him that he can not be stopped. His fans are still spread out across the country and across all age groups. The managers of the other team can not sleep over him. His EuroLeague successes got attention from coast to coast, and now they are adding to his NBA resume in the same way. Somewhere along the way, a very important pair of eyes began to watch him. Michael Jordan saw the best player in the world. He and Jordan Brand signed Luka and are preparing him to be a signature player. 

But the story does not start in Paris. 

The City of Dragons is Ljubljana, Slovenia, which is where Luka grew up and is the capital of Slovenia. There is an old story that the great Greek hero Jason killed the dragon that lived in the Ljubljanica River before the city was built. In Slovenian folklore, the dragon has gone from being a monster to a hero over time and through oral stories. The mythical animal was a part of Doncic’s childhood. Now, every winter, Ljubljana has a Dragon Carnival. There is a dragon on the city’s coat of arms, its flag, its river walls, its manhole covers, and even the football team’s logo, NK Olimpija Ljubljana. People from all over the world know about the city’s Dragon Bridge, which has four copper dragon statues.

That Dragon Bridge is “really nice,” Doncic says. “There are also restaurants all along the river.”

The city’s old castle, which held an exhibition in 2018 called “The Dragon of All Dragons,” was built on the grand hill where the bridge is located. There are wings and fangs all over the city. 

Doncic plays with fire that has been brewing in him for a long time. It comes from the dragons that burn in his city. Not all of him is on fire, though. He can see the beauty.  

That what would surprise a stranger the most about Ljubljana is “just how nice it is,” he says. “Green is pretty much everywhere. You guys might be shocked at how nice it is. It is still green, and you can go to the sea or the mountains. “It looks great.”

A shade for the 1 that came out at launch, called “Natural Habitat,” is named after Ljubljana. 

“This colorway is from my home country of Slovenia; it shows its colors,” he says. “Being from there, it means a lot to me.” This shoe is unique. The green with the brand on it. It has a green bottom. It stands for everything green in Slovenia.

That is not where the story ends, though. 

Doncic says that the choice he made when he was 13 years old was the most important thing that got him to where he is now—having just made it to the Western Conference Finals, being on this cover with his signature shoe, and having had a lot of other success. 

“I think it was really hard when I moved from Slovenia to Madrid,” he says. “I left my family, friends, and school there.” I feel like that event made me ready for who I am now.

“Now” is the version of Luka who has been around the world many times and speaks four languages: Slovene, Spanish, English, and Serbian. He grew up in places that are not safe for grown men. A lot of championship-level games have been played by him. He had to learn how to take care of himself since he did not have any family. The game comes next. The list of things he did from 2015 to 2018 is silly: 

In 2018, he won the EuroLeague and was named MVP of the EuroLeague Final Four. In 2018, he was also named MVP of the Liga ACB. He has also won three Liga ACB titles and was named to the EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team. 

He completely dominated Europe’s best competitors long before he turned 20. 

Craig Williams, President of Jordan Brand, tells KICKS, “I think Luka is equal parts a phenomenal basketball player—one of the world’s best basketball players—and probably one of the happiest people in the world.” “He is a humble and good person.” It is also nice to see that both of those combos are still whole. It is nice to know that you can be fearless on the basketball floor and a great person, friend, or, for us, partner at the same time. It is just…great to see both sides of him all the time.”

Williams talks about how happy Doncic is when he gets a big on a move in the pick-and-roll. Step back to the left, double between the legs, and cash out. Then a big grin when he walks backwards down the court. It takes place every game at least once. No. 77, on the other hand, proves that there is no special trick to it. 

Doncic says, “I just enjoy playing.”