All-Star point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers Luka Dončić claims to be one of the best Overwatch players in the world. The Slovenian phenom was the subject of one of the most controversial trades in NBA history last season, going to LA from the Dallas Mavericks, but he also has a history of spending his downtime being world-renowned in a completely separate game.
In a clip from an interview posted to the NBA subreddit by user MrBuckBuck, Dončić is seen answering questions about his proclivity for playing Overwatch 2, the successor to Blizzard Entertainment's wildly popular 2016 hero shooter. Roughly a year ago, Dončić posted about being ranked in the Top 500 Overwatch players, and when asked for an update, he said, "around [500], or 400 ," admitting he hasn't "played that much this summer," since he was busy vacationing during the NBA offseason.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Luca Dončić Is Also Incredibly Good At Overwatch
A Top 500 Player
Overwatch 2 Wuyang new character from Season 18
Overwatch 2 Wuyang new character from Season 18
Overwatch's ranked ladder has a separate division for the Top 500 players in each region – the Americas, Europe, and Asia – which is separate from the highest, more traditional rank of Champion. In the interview, Dončić mentions he will probably start playing again once he's settled back in LA; the upcoming NBA regular season begins October 21, but training camps and preseason start earlier in the month.
Considering the three distinct regions for Overwatch rankings, Dončić is theoretically one of the best 1,500 Overwatch players in the world. Despite many Overwatch players flocking to competitor Marvel Rivals, it remains a very popular competitive shooter, and reaching such heights on the leaderboard is an incredible achievement. This joins an illustrious list of accolades, including being named an NBA All-Star for five consecutive years.
Dončić Has Been Spotted Playing Overwatch On Stream
His Skill Appears Verifiable
Overwatch 2 Wuyang and Hazard flying past each other
Overwatch 2 Wuyang and Hazard flying past each other
Despite such lofty claims being hard to verify without proof from Dončić himself, there doesn't appear to be any reason to doubt the All-Star point guard. In December 2022, when Overwatch 2 was in early access, Dončić posted on TikTok responding to a question about his main, saying he played Roadhog, Hanzo, and Cassidy the most at the time. A few months later, in March 2023, he was randomly spotted in an Overwatch lobby by streamer Moxy – clips from the livestream were uploaded to YouTube by user Fish Think Fingers Are Food.
At the time, Dončić had the username Donatello (a play on his last name and likely a reference to TMNT), and was playing a mix of heroes, including Zarya and Reinhardt. Moxy has, at multiple points, held the number one rank in Overwatch, and the clips show Dončić playing in a competitive lobby, lending credence to the claim that he's in the Top 500. If the date in the video is correct – March 7, 2023 – then Dončić went on to beat the Utah Jazz later that night when he was still on the Mavericks, scoring 29 points.
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Your Rating
Overwatch 2
Systems
PC-1
ScreenRant logo
Released
August 10, 2023
ESRB
T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch 2 is a continuation of the base game and is now a free-to-play experience in which players can unlock new heroes as they play. It currently features a multiplayer PVP component with plans to unveil PvE modes in the future.
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Franchise
Overwatch
Platform(s)
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PC