According to his family, Dončić first touched a basketball when he was seven months old and was frequently playing with a miniature hoop in his room by the age of one.[1][11] He played various sports in his childhood, including football, which he later quit after growing too tall.[12] At age seven, he began playing organized basketball at primary school in Ljubljana.[11][13] His opponents at the time were up to ten years old, as Dončić reflected: "I was always training and playing with older kids who had much more experience than me. Many of them were bigger and faster than me too, so I had to beat them with my brain."[13] He admired Greek basketball player Vassilis Spanoulis from his early teenage years, stating that he was "enchanted" by him.[14] He wore the number 7 at Real Madrid in honor of Spanoulis.[15] Dončić also grew up admiring American basketball player LeBron James.[16]