Luka Doncic is hoping to lead Slovenia to a successful defense of their EuroBasket title. Doncic with Goran Dragic led the underdog Slovenians to win EuroBasket in 2017, and that squad has gotten better over the years. They’re now competing to retain their EuroBasket crown.
The Slovenians have gotten off to a shaky start, falling to a shocking loss at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their last game. However, they rebounded admirably by beating the 3-0 German team by a score of 80-88. Doncic had an other-worldly performance, putting up a statline of 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
In a post-game interview, a German player told the media that they lost because ‘Luka happened’, a sentiment Doncic heavily disagreed with in the post-game press conference.
“I think Slovenia happened. The whole team, everybody was playing amazing and fighting on every possession. Luka also did happen, but Slovenia happened. I am really proud of every player and we did an amazing thing today. It’s really hard to play Germany in Germany… It was a really hard game but we managed to win it and are proud of this team.”
A German player said in the mixed zone of the loss: “Luka Doncic happened.”
Luka’s response: “I don’t agree. I think Slovenia happened.” pic.twitter.com/BnEkoppt8I
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) September 6, 2022
Can Luka Doncic Lead Slovenia To Win EuroBasket 2022?
Slovenia has a lot of talented players on its roster. Luka’s pick-and-roll partner Mike Tobey has fantastic chemistry with Doncic and is crucial to the Slovenian offense, but suffered an ankle injury early in the game against Germany. Naturally, Slovenia still has its veteran leader in Goran Dragic and another NBA talent in Denver Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar.
This team goes as far as Luka can take them. He is the engine of the team now that Dragic has taken a smaller role on the team. If Luka is on fire, they will be impossible to beat. But one bad game is all it takes for the hopes of Slovenia and Doncic to be dashed. The competition is stiff with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Greece and Nikola Jokic in Serbia, so Luka and his team have to bring their best every night.
