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Luka Doncic is about to become an NBA player http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/ … ugh-jersey , though he’s unlike the other top prospects who will be drafted.

He’s already a pro. He’s already a champion.

And he might just be the most accomplished and intriguing player in this class.

After capping his brilliant stay in Spain with another title, the Slovenian guard heads the list of international players expected to be selected Thursday, a teenager whose resume is already more complete than even some of the most season veterans.

�He may be the most accomplished European teenager to ever come into the draft,� ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas said. �You know, there’s very little that is unknown about him. He’s not some workout wonder that people are projecting. He’s accomplished things, and he has been seen in 5-on-5 against high-level competition for a number of years. He’s played professional basketball since he was 13.�

Doncic couldn’t join Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and the other headliners in New York on Wednesday because he was en route from Spain after finishing off his dream season by helping Real Madrid win its ACB league championship Tuesday. The 6-foot-7 guard made a 3-pointer off one leg with the shot clock running down and Real Madrid clinging to a three-point lead, and his team held on to win the series in four games and allow him to get to Barclays Center in time for Thursday’s festivities, rather than stay behind for a Game 5.

He had already been the MVP of both the Euroleague season and its Final Four, the youngest player ever to win both honors, as Real Madrid won that title as well.

�I’m speechless,� he told the team’s website after Tuesday’s victory. �It has been the season of my life. It’s incredible.�

The Phoenix Suns have the No. 1 pick and are widely expected to draft Arizona center Deandre Ayton, even though new coach Igor Kokoskov coached Doncic last summer on the Slovenian national team that won the nation’s first EuroBasket gold medal.

Then it’s Sacramento, Atlanta Cheap Josh Allen Jersey , Memphis and Dallas, and any of them could consider a player who’s only 19 but has been playing against some of the toughest competition outside the NBA for years. And while there may always be some skepticism of European players because Darko Milicic bombed so badly after being taken right behind LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade 15 years ago, it would be a surprise if Doncic failed after all he’s already done.

�He should easily transition to the league really well,� Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV said. �I mean, look at what he’s doing in the Euroleague. You’ve got to respect what he’s doing. You can’t say he’s not good and he’s the MVP and everything of that spot. So pay respect where it’s due. He’s a great player. All you can say is tell him to continue to work hard and prove everyone that’s doubting him wrong.�

Even with Ayton, a native of the Bahamas, and Doncic at the top of the list of international candidates, the strength of this draft is at the college level. Power programs such as Duke (Bagley and Wendell Carter Jr.), Michigan State (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges), national champion Villanova (Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo) and Kentucky (Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) could have multiple players taken in the top 10-15 selections of the two-round draft, and teams looking for point guards could choose between freshmen Trae Young of Oklahoma and Collin Sexton of Alabama.

They could give the NBA a second straight strong rookie class, after Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and 2016 No. 1 pick Ben Simmons of Philadelphia all helped their teams advance to at least the second round of the postseason.

�I think it’s a transformational class Evan Bouchard Oilers Jersey ,� Missouri’s Michael Porter Jr. said. �I think we’ve got a lot of different kinds of players: Deandre, Marvin, the big dudes who are special, and then me along with a couple other wings who can do a lot of different things, and then point guard, Trae, Collin Sexton, and then I heard that Luka dude – I ain’t seen much on him but I heard he’s special, too. So I think we’re a great draft, one of the best in a while.�

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Picture this: Prince taking the stage at U.S. Bank Stadium in his hometown of Minneapolis for the 2018 Super Bowl to a dazzling display of purple lights, wowing the crowd at halftime with his frenzied guitar work, soulful singing and slick dance moves.

Perfect marketing, a die-hard fan’s dream. But it won’t happen.

Prince’s death from an accidental painkiller overdose in 2016 leaves fans to only imagine how the megastar might have topped his electrifying performance in pouring rain at the Super Bowl 11 years ago in Miami.

â€�People joke, `Can we just have a Prince hologram?â€�’ said Mike Howard http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/ … mas-jersey , spokesman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee. Justin Timberlake is the halftime performer for Sunday’s game.

At a press conference Thursday, Timberlake said Prince was a big influence.

�In my opinion, the greatest all-around musician in popular culture,� Timberlake said. �The time I got to spend around him, with him, talking about music . those are memories that I’ll take with me forever.�

But the sights and sounds of Prince still surround the big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. There’s the mural of Prince with a white dove in the Uptown neighborhood, his gold star outside Minneapolis’ First Avenue nightclub, or Paisley Park, his recording complex-turned-museum in Chanhassen, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis.

�Prince is not here in being, but he’s here in spirit,� said music producer Jimmy Jam, who along with his producing partner Terry Lewis went heavy on Minnesota musical acts for Super Bowl Live , a free Logan Cooke Color Rush Jersey , 10-day fan festival on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. Jam said he hears Prince music �on every NFL telecast and highlight on all the networks.�

Jam said Prince �is so associated with this state and with this city that his presence is definitely felt.�

Thousands packed downtown for Monday’s �Prince Night� concert, featuring Sheila E., Morris Day and The Time, and Prince’s 1980s band The Revolution.

Fans also are getting a firsthand look at Prince’s guitars, costumes, hats and shoes on loan from Paisley Park at an exhibit as part of Super Bowl Live.

�He was magic. I think that people in Minnesota didn’t realize exactly how big he was probably until after his death, because he was our hometown guy,� Jeanette Blasewitz, 66, of Eden Prairie said while checking out the displays.

Sunday’s game marks the anniversary of Prince’s appearance at the 2007 Super Bowl that saw the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears. Many called the show the best Super Bowl halftime ever.

Dressed in turquoise jacket and pants with an orange shirt, Prince gave a blistering rendition of his own hits, such as �Let’s Go Crazy,� followed by covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s �Proud Mary,� Bob Dylan’s �All Along the Watchtower� and the Foo Fighters’ �Best of You� before finishing with �Purple Rain� in a driving rainstorm.

Morris Hayes Robert Griffin III Color Rush Jersey , 55, was a keyboardist for Prince’s former band New Power Generation and was on stage that night. He remembers organizers approaching Prince before the Super Bowl with the forecast of rain and offering to pre-record his performance. Hayes said that prompted Prince’s famous response: Can you make it rain harder?

�The fact that it did rain when it did and how (Prince) did `Purple Rain’ in the rain, you can’t beat that. … It was magical, you know,� Hayes recalled.

Fan Melisa Rokala, 46, of Cokato explains Prince’s appeal to Minnesota residents.

�As a Minnesotan, we love our own. And we love it when our own people love us here,� Rokala said. �He loved Minnesota. It was always his home. And his music was groundbreaking.�

She believes Prince – who once wrote a song for the Minnesota Vikings – would have been involved in a Minneapolis Super Bowl, perhaps again as the halftime performer, if he was still alive.

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