The Slovenian national team at Eurobasket 2022 is a must-see
Written by Aljuš Pertinač
“Deep in the heart of the eastern slopes of the Alps is the home of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty: Slovenia. … Slovenia is a magical fairy-tale land, home to the rarest mythical creatures …”. This is how Oscar winner and director Michael Moore portrayed Slovenia in the 2015 documentary: Where to invade next.
Whether or not you approve of Moore’s views and analysis of American society and politics, one thing is certain, there is at least one a miracle for which Slovenia is responsible. I am talking, of course, about the sporting miracle when the Slovenian basketball team won the title at EuroBasket in 2017. Five years have passed since this magical, almost mythical achievement, and now the Slovenian basketball team is ready to give another one. such a miracle at EuroBasket 2022. What would make this basketball fairy tale about consecutive gold medal wins in the second strongest international competition (only the Olympic Games can be considered more difficult, when the USA national team plays with its best lineup) almost a real fairy tale, is that the two best players from Slovenia teams and would do so in reversed roles. Goran Dragić, who was the MVP of EuroBasket 2017, is now a Robin according to his own words, and generational superstar Luka Dončić, who was Dragić’s Robin half a decade ago, is now pure Batman.
The power of this story is such that FIBA placed Slovenia in first place in its initial EuroBasket power rankings, ahead of perennial European basketball superpowers such as France, Greece, Serbia and Spain. This is undoubtedly a testament to the greatness of Luka Dončić, who FIBA also made the face of the tournament, but it also shows how important Goran Dragić’s return to the national team is. For his teammates, the coaching staff, for Slovenian fans, basketball fans around the world and especially for Dallas Mavericks fans.
Mavericks fans are no strangers to the fact that their superstar spends practically every summer playing for the national team. This was the case for many years with Dirk Nowitzki, who, like Luka, almost single-handedly led his national team to previously unseen and almost impossible heights. Nowitzki led his team to a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and a silver medal at EuroBasket 2005, winning the MVP award both times. Luka put his national team on his back last summer, when Slovenia qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time, and later the Frenchmen Nicholas Batum and Los Angeles Clippers a block away from playing in the final against Team USA. It’s hard to contextualize what an incredible achievement this is for a country of just over two million people.
There are undoubtedly plenty of Mavericks fans who aren’t too fond of their two franchise superstars spending the summer playing for their national teams and risking injury instead of resting up and working on their individual games. It’s no secret that Luka Doncic entering the 2021-2022 NBA season in poor shape can largely be attributed to only having three weeks of rest after a grueling NBA season and playoffs, the aforementioned run at Olympics, which exhausted Dončić both physically and emotionally.
In any case, it is reported that Luka, who is currently spending another summer (and this time in September) playing for his national team, could come to Mavericks training in October in the best possible shape.
Like Dirk, Luka will play for the national team every summer at least until the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It is true that Luka is benefiting from playing for his national team. Dirk’s role as manager of the German national team helped him become the player he was meant to be, leading to an NBA title in 2011. It makes sense to hope for a similar growth for Dončić. Luka Dončić was the second best player in the national team that won the title in 2017 and almost single-handedly led his country to an Olympic medal. Those two moments left everyone confident in the Mavericks and Doncic for Games 6 and 7 against the Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals. He already knew that a stubborn performance is one thing, but few are able to give their best performance when it matters most, such as in elimination games on the opposing team’s court.
Basketball is a team sport and winning alone in today’s top basketball, NBA or international, is almost impossible. That is why the return of Goran Dragić is so important. He could be the turning point between Luka Dončić, who appears in the training camp after another fourth place (in a row) or with a medal, maybe even gold, around his neck. Every Batman needs a Robin and Dragic is just about perfect. Maybe not for the 82-game NBA regular season, which appears to be the reason the Dallas Front Office didn’t sign Dragic, but certainly for the 10-game EuroBasket.
Goran Dragić means about the national team less playing time for Luka. It also means less responsibility and burden for Dončić. This means that Luka’s usage rate will decrease, something that Dallas fans are very much looking for. We will see a lot more of how Luka plays without the ball. Setting up a guard guarding screens for Dragic, dishing out short handoffs, cutting and even catch and shoot. All of this is necessary to keep Luka fresh and even more lethal on the basketball court, and above all, to ensure that he can play close to a hundred games in what could be a deep playoff season for the Mavs. It will also serve as yet another example that the “Luka the ball hog” narrative is wrong and that NBA stars who need the ball in their hands can come play with Luka without fear or hesitation.
Enjoy the potential Slovenian basketball fairy tale at EuroBasket, maybe it will be followed by the even bigger Dallas Mavericks. Goran Dragić plays a key role in one and, paradoxically, also in the other. Batman and Robin, as it should be. This team will be one to watch in August and September.