Luka Doncic loves playing basketball, something made clear by his active participation in national team basketball. He represents Slovenia whenever he gets the chance, including this year after playing in the NBA Finals while injured. Instead of taking time off to heal, Doncic is already competing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, explaining to reporters why he is back on the court so soon.
“We’re two million [population], and to represent this country means everything to me. I want to say thanks to Dallas for letting me play… I always know I’m going to play, so it’s a big honor for me.”
Doncic has played for Slovenia every available summer since 2017, leading them to a remarkable fourth place in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He hopes to bring home an Olympic medal to his nation this year, but Slovenia still needs to qualify for Paris 2024.
They’re playing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece but fell to a 92-108 loss in their opening game against Croatia. If Slovenia loses their next game to New Zealand, they’ll be eliminated from Olympic contention, which will probably force Doncic into taking time off until training camp in late September.
Doncic put up 26 points (8-23 FG, 0-9 3Pt, 10-11 FT), 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and one steal in 37 minutes in the loss to Croatia, laboring with his injuries on the court. He hasn’t fully healed from the grind of the NBA season, so Mavericks fans should be worried about their franchise star and his heavy international load.
Should Luka Doncic Take Time Off Representing Slovenia?
To keep the answer simple, absolutely not. Doncic is a generational basketball superstar coming from a country with a population of about 2 million. He takes the responsibility of uplifting the entire nation’s basketball achievements, similar to what Goran Dragic did when he was an NBA All-Star and representing Slovenia every summer.
Dragic has said his heavy workload led to his prime being shorter than what he expected, which could be a worry with Doncic. He played in the 2023 FIBA World Cup as well as the 2022 EuroBasket tournament, with the 2020 Olympics also taking place in 2021.
Many other international NBA stars place a lot of value on representing their nation, but even they don’t do it as regularly as Doncic does. Superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic sat out the 2023 FIBA World Cup, though Jokic’s Serbia still won the Gold medal without him. They’re participating in the Olympics but saw their NBA seasons end before Doncic’s. Even Dirk Nowitzki took certain summers off from representing Germany to focus on his health.
The Mavericks haven’t stopped Doncic from representing Slovenia, nor will they ever try doing so. Instead, they’re monitoring their star in the Slovenian camp with Mavericks’ lead assistant Sean Sweeney part of the national team’s training staff. Sweeney will look after Doncic’s larger interests as well while developing his own coaching acumen to help the Mavericks repeat their Finals heroics.
Luka and Sweeney will go back to a new Mavericks roster, as players such as Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes have already joined the team in the offseason.
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