What is the meaning of "would" in "would step in to fill the void"?

Question

From this : https://www.bbc.com/sport/basketball/52970613

1. Doncic would make his first-team debut at Real Madrid aged 16

2. That summer's EuroBasket also, inadvertently, gave Doncic the chance to establish himself as Real Madrid's key man. Spain international Llull, Madrid's starting point guard and the previous season's MVP, suffered an ACL injury in a pre-tournament friendly, ruling him out for most of the 2017-18 campaign. Doncic would step in to fill the void.

3. Basketball was a constant in Doncic's early life. His father Sasa played professionally in Slovenia, Croatia and France, and his godfather is the former San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors centre Rasho Nesterovic. The young Doncic would sit behind the basket while his father played, sneaking on to the court at half-time to practise his jump shot.

How can I understand (would in both sentences) ?

1. ...
2. opinion or hope ?
3. instead of (used to) ?

Answer 1

1. "Would" is used as a statement of fact to refer back to a single action, outcome or result occurring at a time in the past.
2. As for 1.
3. "Would" is used to refer to a general intention or typical behavior to repeat an action over a period of time in the past. "Used to" would be OK in this context but be aware that it is not same as "would" in all cases. "Used to" is limited to describing typical behavior or series of actions or outcomes in the past.

Check out the definition of would.

Answer 2

Reference: Future in the past.

**By Richard Nordquist Updated September 03, 2018

In English grammar, the future-in-the-past is the use of "would or was/were going to" to

refer to the future from the perspective of some point in the past.

As illustrated below, other verbs in the past progressive can also be used to convey this future-in-the-past perspective.

Also known as: Prediction in the past**