Luka Doncic’s incredible 2021-22 NBA season wrapped up last week when the Dallas Mavericks were eliminated from the Western Conference Finals by finalists Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks were outmatched by a deeper and more experienced team. The Mavs managed to win Game 4 to avoid being swept.
Many believed that Dallas ran out of energy by the end of the Warriors series, something people have been blaming on Luka because he entered the season out of shape. After being heavily maligned for that and going through a slump to start the season, Doncic was unstoppable after he played his way into shape.
Mavs fans will be hoping he shows commitment over the summer and comes into camp in shape. One challenge towards that is Doncic’s busy summer, as he has confirmed he will represent Slovenia in international basketball with the World Cup qualifiers in late June and EuroBasket in August.
Luka finished his NBA season, but he still has a busy summer ahead of him. He'll play for Slovenia in World Cup qualifiers at the end of june and then start getting ready for Eurobasket in august, where he'll defend the European title.
— Matej Sportinfo (@MatejSportinfo) May 27, 2022
One of the main reasons for Doncic coming into the season unfit was his extremely tiring summer of 2021. Doncic shouldered a heavy load for the Mavericks in a shortened season that had 72 games crammed into it. After the playoffs, Luka went straight to join the Slovenian Olympic camp, as he took his country through a miracle run to the semi-finals.
With the lack of rest he got last season affecting him for the first two months, Dallas fans can only pray that this summer’s heavy schedule doesn’t slow the 23-year-old phenom down.
Doncic has repeatedly mentioned his primary commitment as a basketball player will be to win with Slovenia, even saying an Olympic Gold medal means more to him than an NBA Championship. As long as he is young and in his prime, he should try his best to make sure his home nation of 2 million can make a splash on the highest levels of international basketball.
