Luka Doncic‘s pursuit of delivering a EuroBasket title to Slovenia may have come up short, but the Los Angeles Lakers guard was anything but ordinary at the tournament. After an offseason of dedication to his conditioning and physique, Doncic delivered a tremendous performance at the tournament, earning him a spot on the All-Star Five.
The 26-year-old led Slovenia all the way to the quarterfinals, where they fell to eventual champions, Germany, led by Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner.
Doncic’s spectacular display drew praise in virtually every game, but this selection is particularly meaningful when considering the other names on the list.
Alongside Doncic, the 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five featured Germany’s star pair of Schroder and Wagner, Turkey’s Alperen Sengun, and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of these, the Slovenian is the only player who wasn’t in the semifinals, a clear indication of his ability.
The guard’s selection to the tournament’s All-Star Five marks the second time he has earned such a distinction, with the first being in 2017 when Slovenia won the tournament.
Although the star couldn’t bring the title back to his country in this iteration of the tournament, he continued to carve out his place in history.
Doncic’s averages were beyond impressive. After emerging as the leader in three out of four major categories in the group stages, he continued to dominate in the knockout game against Italy and even put up a brilliant individual showing in the loss against Germany.
With an average of 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 3.2 steals per game, the Slovenian was in a different realm. His scoring average also ranks third in the tournament’s history, coming up behind Greece’s Nikos Galis and making him one of three players to average over 30 points per game at EuroBasket.
Following an inspiring run in Europe, the guard will now turn his attention towards his next goal: winning a championship with the Lakers.
The 26-year-old has set very high expectations heading into the 2025-26 season. Considering the amount of attention he received for his offseason transformation, several expect him to have an MVP-caliber performance while leading the Purple and Gold.
In many ways, Doncic seems poised to lead this team to a solid showing in the upcoming season. With improved conditioning and performance on both ends of the floor, the Lakers’ star could lead by example.
Armed with a revitalized roster and paired with a formidable superstar in LeBron James, the Lakers will look to their franchise players to mount a solid campaign, potentially leading to the organization successfully raising another banner from the rafters.
