Luka Doncic declared immediately after the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 2025-26 season ended that he won’t be playing for the Slovenian national team this summer, and he has now confirmed there has been no change in plans. Doncic recently spoke to the media at a Jordan Brand event in Ljubljana, where he shared his offseason plans.
“We already know that I won’t play for the national team,” Doncic said, via Siol. “The main reason is my daughters. Everything else is pretty much the same. I’m doing individual workouts, training in the gym, and also playing other sports. This year, golf has become part of the routine, so it’s a little different.
“Golf is amazing,” Doncic continued. “We played a lot with the team before. Now we can’t because we’re apart. It’s really relaxing—you’re out in nature, away from your phone, at peace. It’s one of the best things.”
It was Doncic’s father, Sasa, who had said that his son could still play for Slovenia in the summer. The 27-year-old has now ruled that out.
Doncic had stated in May that his two daughters are the biggest reason why he won’t be representing the national team, for once. He has been embroiled in a custody battle with his ex-fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, for months and wants to spend as much time with the girls as possible.
Doncic could definitely use the rest, too. The six-time All-Star hasn’t taken the summer off in quite a while. Doncic represented Slovenia in EuroBasket in 2025, the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2024, the World Cup in 2023, EuroBasket again in 2022, and the Olympics in 2021. No one can be too hard on him for choosing not to play in the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifiers. He also thinks they’ll be fine without him.
Despite not playing, Doncic will keep himself in shape with workouts, training, and other sports. He confirmed here as well that the Grade 2 hamstring strain that caused him to miss the Lakers’ entire 2026 playoff run is behind him now. They managed to beat the Houston Rockets in the first round without him, but were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.
“I always say a season is unsuccessful if you don’t win a title,” Doncic said. “We were unlucky. I was unlucky, Austin [Reaves] was injured, too. In March, we were playing really good basketball, but in the end, it didn’t work out. As for the future, it’s still far away, but I hope everything moves in the right direction.”
The Lakers had gone 15-2 in March and were one of the hottest teams in basketball at that point. It looked like they’d be entering the playoffs with a ton of momentum, but it wasn’t to be.
Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively, on April 2 against the Thunder. Reaves was able to return after missing the start of the playoffs, but the Lakers were never going to go too far without their superstar guard.
It was a disappointing end to what had been a great season for Doncic. He had averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers. Doncic won the scoring title for the second time in his career and also made the All-NBA First Team. He finished fourth in MVP voting, though, and you do wonder if he’s ever going to win the award at this rate.
