Luka Dončić will play for Slovenia after leaving the Dallas Mavs NBA playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks 2021-22 season ended after they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. For Luka Dončić, he will soon be in action again.
In his resignation interview, Dončić made it clear that he intends to play in the upcoming EuroBasket 2022 for Slovenia. If he is healthy enough to participate, he intends to play for his national team when the opportunity arises.
“I always say – if I’m not injured or something, I’ll play for the national team,” Doncic said.
For Dončić, there will be a short turnaround after the Mavericks drop out of the playoffs. He will start training on June 15 with the Slovenian men’s national team before competing in the European qualifiers for the FIBA 2023 World Championships.
“In 15 days we will start training,” Doncic said. “Then we have the World Cup qualifiers, then the break, and then we have to get ready for EuroBasket. A tense summer.”
Scroll to Continue
Last summer, Dončić took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo with the Slovenian national team. He put on a show and scored as many as 48 points against Argentina – the second highest individual result in the history of Olympic men’s basketball.
Slovenia lost to France 90:89 in the semifinals of the men’s basketball basketball last year. With 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists, Dončić recorded the third triple-double in the history of Olympic men’s basketball.
There will be many interesting events for Dončić and the Slovenian men’s national team as a member of Group B, which consists of Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and France.
Slovenia will face Croatia on June 30 and Sweden on July 3, and then on September 1 to 7 against Group B. The top four teams will qualify for the qualifying round in Berlin from 10 to 18 September.
Doncic comes from the 2021/22 NBA season with an average of 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists. In the 2022-23 season, he will strive for a stronger start so that he will have his fitness level at the level he needs to be after he has failed to do so this season.