Why Does Luka Doni Wear No. 77 on His Jersey?

Publish date: 2024-05-13

Why does Luka Dončić wear the No. 77? Detailing the Slovenian athlete's origins with the number that he's now so closely aligned with.

Chris Barilla - Author

It goes with out announcing at this level that Slovenian athlete Luka Dončić is without doubt one of the brightest stars within the NBA. The present Dallas Mavericks franchise chief in profession triple-doubles, Luka has been shaking up the sector of professional basketball relatively a bit of ever since he was once drafted as a rookie into the NBA within the 2018–19 season.

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There are a large number of already-legendary sides of Luka's profession worth speaking about, but many lovers seem to fixate on his jersey No. 77, looking for any significance it should must the participant. So, why does Luka wear 77 on his jersey?

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Why does Luka Dončić wear No. 77 on his jersey?

It might seem as although 77 used to be a randomly assigned numeral, but Luka has made it transparent that his choice is an homage to Greek skilled basketball player Vassilis Spanoulis.

Per EuroHoops, Luka printed his choice to choose the No. 77 throughout a press convention after a 2021 game towards Angola.

"Obviously, Felipe Reyes was my teammate, and he taught me well. He was the veteran over there, and he won almost everything," the NBA famous person stated. "He was a really big time for my career. [Vassilis] was my idol since I was little. I was watching him. It was kind of sad seeing him retiring."

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Luka persevered through pronouncing, "That’s why I wear No 7. I mean, I couldn’t wear No. 7, cause it was already taken, so I took 77. He was really, really big time for me."

No. 7, which is what Vassilis donned, had already been claimed by Kleman Prepelic, an older Slovenian participant who had seniority over Luka when the latter joined the national staff. Nonetheless, Luka took it in stride and easily added every other 7 to his number, making it 77.

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Klemen even posted a message of make stronger for his teammate on Twitter when he decided on No. 77, sharing a flick of his new jersey with the encouraging remark, "bigtime!!"

The same number issue arose again when Luka was drafted by way of the Mavericks, as Dwight Powell already had No. 7, leaving the Slovenian big name to make a choice his now-signature No. 77 once more.

Luka has made his affinity for Vassilis known for some time, even tweeting a thank you message to the athlete when the latter retired from basketball.

On every other example, Luka reaffirmed his love for the Greek athlete by means of pronouncing, "Obviously, I looked at LeBron, but I mostly watched Spanoulis. I do not know if you guys know him, but he played in Olympiacos," according to Basket News.

Likewise, Vassilis has expressed his admiration for Luka's abilities and has said that he is a fan of the rising NBA superstar. "It's an honor hearing one of the greatest players in the world saying that he played basketball because of me. My kids are watching him, I am very happy that I inspired a phenomenal player like him," he stated, per Basket News.

It's transparent that the NBA famous person and his idol have rather an excellent stage of admire for one any other.

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