Luka Doncic first took the basketball world by storm at Real Madrid.
It was there, at the European powerhouse, that Doncic proved as a precocious 18-year old that he could be one of the best players on the planet. And although it didn't lead to a No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft, it did lead him on his path to the Dallas Mavericks and now the Los Angeles Lakers.
And in a new feature in the Wall Street Journal, Doncic revealed just how much Real Madrid means to him.
If the opportunity arises, Doncic wants to retire there.
"For sure," Doncic told WSJ when asked about that idea. "They raised me."
To be clear, there's no indication that this is coming anytime soon.
Doncic is 26 and at the peak of his powers. He's probably got a decade or more still to go in the NBA, if he wants it.
But it's cool to see that he already has perspective on what the ending of his career might look like.
It can be hard to appreciate things while in the moment. It would've been easy for Doncic to just close out his NBA career with another decade of dominance and only then realize what Real Madrid had meant to him.
But instead, Doncic already knows.
It's hard for NBA fans to appreciate the level of play in the EuroLeague, but it's the second-best basketball league in the world, and it propelled Doncic to generational heights.