Luka Doncic had a sensation set of games for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers as Doncic looked to lead the country to the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Other European NBA stars were also playing these qualifiers, including Dennis Schroder, who made history with a 38-point performance.
Luka had a 30-point performance against Sweden the same night as Schroder’s historic night. Doncic had to lead his country past the Swedes as the game got close. For Doncic, the game seemed to open up whenever he tried a move as the Swedish defenders were struggling to slow him down after the crowd chanted ‘overrated’ at him.
To send a message to the crowd, Luka made an incredible bucket by shooting a picture-perfect skyhook that went through the bucket. The shot quickly became viral and was posted by various outlets on social media. It caught up to Luka, who commented on a clip of his shot by saying, ‘would you like some Kareem with that?’, making a pun of the legendary center’s name with what baristas in coffee shops say.
☕️ @luka7doncic got jokes 😂#FIBAWC | #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/tlxgMUPYrH
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 🏆 (@FIBAWC) July 4, 2022
Doncic will start unwinding for his offseason now that the first leg of his international commitments are over. He will return to playing for Slovenia in September to help them defend their EuroBasket crown.
An unpleasant surprise may await Doncic in Dallas after the departure of Jalen Brunson and the failure to sign Goran Dragic as Brunson’s replacement by the Mavericks front office. They have added bigs over the summer to give Luka a genuine lob threat in JaVale McGee and Christian Wood.
The roster still needs a lot of work to add wing and guard depth around Luka if the Mavs want to repeat the success of last season and return to the later stages of the playoffs. Eventually, the team needs to get serious about making a title push, or they will alienate their young star and force him to test free agency one day.
