When I was a kid, there were two places you could always find me.
If it wasn’t the outdoor basketball court behind my apartment building in Ljubljana, I was in the arena working as a ballboy.
But let’s be real. Being a ballboy wasn’t a job to me. It was an excuse to get closer to the game I love. I’d sneak onto the floor any chance I got. All I wanted was to get some shots up. All I wanted to do was play.
Because basketball has always been more than a game for me.
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Basketball – played inside or outside, in any country or city – is where I have always found joy. I have learned that, in English, you might describe this as my “sanctuary” or my “escape.” The way I like to say it is that basketball is my “peace place.”
And now, as a new father, I think a lot about my daughter and young people around the world and the opportunities they have. Do they have the same access to basketball – to joy – that I had?
I am worried that they don’t.
That’s why I am proud to launch the Luka Dončić Foundation. That’s why we won’t stop working to create a positive youth sports culture all over the world. We will keep starting new programs, supporting coaches and players, educating parents, building courts and bringing in fresh ideas to make the game more fun and accessible for everyone.
For our first big project, we have put together the first-of-its-kind “Inside Youth Basketball” report which we will be releasing Saturday, on World Basketball Day. I urge you to read the report, which consulted numerous experts (including players, coaches and parents) to try to identify the things we are doing well in the United States and in Europe where I grew up. But more importantly, to identify the areas where we’re falling short.
Our report found that the pressures on kids to be perfect – treating games like they’re a job or a way to fill your highlight reel – are leading to historic drop-out rates: Seven out of 10 kids are walking away from youth sports by age 13. These pressures take away all the things that I love most about basketball. Kids who stop playing miss out on friendship, teamwork, growth, development, healthy competition and, most of all, fun. They miss out on the joy.
This has to change. And that’s why we developed the “Total Hoops Approach,” to turn basketball’s focus back to a sport that everyone can enjoy. This means advocating for coaches and parents to create more fulfilling, positive programs for kids, under the guidance of a Youth Sports Leadership Council that includes many of my personal mentors, heroes and peers. We are so honored and excited that Dirk Nowitzki, Stephen Curry, Sabrina Ionescu, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol, Igor Kokoškov and Bill Duffy have joined the council to help us with all of our projects.
They all see what I see: The time is now to join forces and make basketball better for the next generation.
Basketball has already given me more in life than I could have ever imagined. It filled me with big dreams in Slovenia, brought me to Spain when I was a teenager and landed me in the United States before I turned 20.
But all of that is secondary to the joy basketball has given me from Day 1. When I play for the Mavericks, I still get that same feeling today that I did when I was 5 years old. When I’m on the court, having fun, it feels like the ball is smiling back at me.
I want as many young people as possible to see that same smiling ball. I want every kid to feel that same happiness – no matter what sport they’re playing: Just step on that court or field and know they can have fun, be creative and just play.
This is my call to the worldwide basketball community: Let’s come together, share what we’ve learned, discuss new ideas and protect what makes basketball and all sports special.
Let’s make basketball better than it has ever been.