Luka Doncic, star player for the Dallas Mavericks, is “very excited” to face off against Real Madrid in an international exhibition game in Spain.

FRISCO — The Dallas Mavericks have an exciting overseas preseason schedule planned, with stops in Abu Dhabi and Madrid beginning in early October. For the first time, the Mavericks will be playing Luka Doncic’s previous team, Real Madrid, in Spain. 

Doncic, who spent three seasons with Real Madrid (2015-2018), says the experience shaped him as a person as much as a basketball player. The country became his “second home” where he mastered not only English and Spanish but also the finer points of basketball.

Doncic: “I’ve been thinking about this game since they told me we’re going to play there.” The stakes are high for me in that match. That is where I spent my formative years. I picked up not only their English and Spanish but also their every other language. A new skill that I mastered was basketball. My second house is there. I can’t wait to go back there.

Dallas Mavericks guard and Real Madrid star Luka Doncic

Photographs by Jerome Miron for USA TODAY Sports (left) and Nikola Krstic for REX/Shutterstock (right).

It will be a momentous event for Real Madrid and its fans to see Doncic’s comeback to competition versus Real Madrid. Doncic’s 2018 NBA Draft declaration came after he had led his team to a EuroLeague title and been honored as MVP of the league, All-EuroLeague First Team, and EuroLeague MVP in his final season with the club. 

Doncic faced off against Edy Tavares, a former colleague from their time together at Real Madrid, for the first time at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Doncic led Slovenia to a victory over Cape Verde in the game, but before the showdown he said it was “special” to play against Tavares. The next step for both Doncic and Tavares is to compete for their respective professional clubs rather than their national teams. 

“I think it will be amazing, especially for him to have his team in Madrid where he, where he was born as the best basketball player when he turned into a superstar,” Tavares said in an exclusive interview with DallasBasketball.com. He’s going to have a great time. We and the people of Madrid are in for a treat.

On October 10 at 8:45 p.m. CEST (1:45 p.m. CST), the Mavs will take on Real Madrid in a game that will be broadcast on NBA TV.