2018 National Treasures Luka Doncic ROOKIE NBA LOGOMAN PATCH AUTO 1/1 #127 BGS 9

Because trains are so long and cannot stop on a dime, they must be carefully spaced on tracks worldwide to avoid catastrophic accidents, and a German engineer believes he may have unlocked a new system that could redefine how they are mapped. Each piece of steel rail carries unique magnetic permeabilities, so Dr. Martin Lauer developed the Magnetic Railway Onboard Sensor (MAROS) to precisely map what are essentially magnetic fingerprints along the 2.3 billion kilometers of tracks worldwide. With that information, a computer algorithm would be able to schedule trains in closer succession than is possible using current technology. Lauer has calculated odds of 1:1 trillion that there is a magnetic duplicate in any 200-meter section of the railway—yet those are seemingly better odds than finding a copy of Luka Dončić, whose play on the basketball court sometimes feels like it is the product of an algorithm. Unlike a train, Dončić likes to stop on a dime, watching with delight as defenders stagger around after being duped by his revolutionary ball-handling wizardry. Dončić has been chugging along in the early going of this new season, posting a statistical start that has never been seen. Dončić is the first player in NBA history to average better than 36 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists over the first six games of a season and already has a pair of triple-doubles to his credit. The MVP contender wants to keep that going as the next stop for the Mavericks is winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy one year after getting derailed by the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. “First of all, you’ve got to get to the playoffs,” Dončić said coming into the campaign. “I think this year is even harder in the West, but you learn. You see how Golden State played throughout all the playoffs. They play as a team, they play amazing, they play amazing defense. You’ve just got to look up to them and see how they played and learn from it.” It is hard to forget that even though Dončić is entering his fifth season, he is still an acute 23-year-old sponge when it comes to the NBA. Dončić has played full steam ahead since slamming home a dunk three minutes into his NBA debut, and it did not take fans, opponents, or card collectors long to realize Luka had the moxie of a conductor instead of a ticket taker. One card everyone hoped would come roaring out of their box of 2018 National Treasures was Dončić’s 1/1 NBA Logoman RPA, and even if you were not the lucky person who originally unearthed it, you now have your shot at acquiring it. This is no mirage: Dončić’s NT Logoman is available in the November Premier Auction—and you can see that he is pointing at you. The collector who wins this card will feel more powerful than the Little Engine That Could after they acquire arguably the best rookie card to come out of any basketball product in recent years, getting not just a card assessed as a BGS 9 but a hard-signed signature that received an Auto 10 designation. In celebration, they may as well hitch it to the back of a transcontinental train—Luka’s worldwide appeal would give this card a crowded audience anywhere on the globe. That train would not yet be equipped with Lauer’s MAROS system, which is not expected to be fully functional until 2025, and if Dončić remains on his current trajectory, he may have enough hardware by then to overload a caboose. For now, there will likely be enough bidders punching their tickets for access to the extended bidding session to force the ticket takers into overtime, but you will want to ensure you are in before the conductor shouts, “All aboard!” And dress your best before you hop on—because there will be quite the soirée as the final night of bidding comes to a close.