Slovenia's Dončić wins NBA Rookie of the Year honours

Dončić is also only the fourth international player ever to win the honours in the 73-year history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with Canada's Andrew Wiggins (2015) and Ben Simmons of Australia (2018) being the remaining two.

The latest accolade for the 20-year-old comes after he won gold with Slovenia at the 2017 EuroBasket, and the European champion title with Spain's Real Madrid in 2018. He was also named the most valuable player (MVP) of the EuroLeague that year.

After conquering Europe, Dončić was selected with the third pick in last year's NBA Draft to become a member of the rebuilding Dallas Mavericks, the team which won the championship in 2011 and which has been facing a decline since.

The Slovenian played 72 games for the Texas team to establish himself as a de facto leader as the ageing superstar Dirk Nowitzki was bidding farewell...