Cavs draft pick says he gained something by guarding Luka Doncic in EuroBasket

Italy and Slovenia did battle in a EuroBasket elimination game over the weekend, and Cleveland Cavaliers 2025 draft pick Saliou Niang faced off against none other than Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic in the matchup.

The star power of Doncic proved to be the deciding factor in the game between the two European nations, as he scored a whopping 42 points. Niang has since said that it was an “honor” to battle Doncic and explained that he thinks the experience will help him.

“It’s an honor to play against Luka,” Niang said. “I just tried to do my best. The confidence I had in defending Doncic can help me a lot in the future.”

He also admitted that Italy did its best to keep Doncic in check even though he went off for more than 40 points.

“We put a lot of energy on the court and played good defense, but Doncic was Luka Doncic,” he said. “It was tough; we tried to stop him in the second half. We did our best.”

Niang was one of Italy’s best player in its loss to Slovenia. He contributed 12 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line. The youngster also made his impact in other ways outside of scoring with six rebounds and a pair of steals.

His words about his confidence matching up against Doncic on the defensive end (and how that could aid him moving forward) should come as music to the ears of Cavaliers fans. Niang seemingly has the physical tools and athleticism to serve as a highly effective defensive player at the highest level one day.

It’s unlikely he will be a majorly important player for the Cavaliers out of the gate, however. He’s still quite a raw prospect, and with the team planning to stash him overseas for a little while, he will have time to continue to hone his game outside of the NBA spotlight.

At the very least, how he fared with the Italian national team in EuroBasket justified the Cavaliers using a pick late in the draft on him, and he’s an intriguing prospect who Cavs fans should be excited to see grow in the coming years. Fans of the team are surely hoping that he will end up going down as a steal for the franchise in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft.