How the presence of Goran Dragić in Slovenia helps Dallas Mavs Luka Dončić
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić is currently competing with his national team of the Basketball Association of Slovenia, together with his mentor Goran Dragić.
After retiring from international competition last summer, Dragić did not participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo alongside Dončić. Dragić came out of retirement to help Dončić guide Slovenia through the EuroBasket.
One of the areas where Dončić showed a need for improvement was his display of emotion at key moments. This continued into his NBA career as he came close to serving an automatic one-game suspension for accumulating technical fouls.
“We were a bit too emotional in both matches, especially me. I have to learn from this and I shouldn’t have behaved like that,” Dončić admitted after Slovenia’s defeat against Australia in Tokyo for bronze. BasketNews.
Dončić did his best to lead Slovenia to the Olympics without Dragić. Given the differences in country size and history of basketball success, it was a tremendous feat to even be on such a stage to compete and provide a learning experience by handling the pressure.
“I think Luka learned from it. He played so many important games that I think he will be fine,” said Dragic.
Slovenian coach Aleksandar Sekulič recently explained how Dragić’s presence helps Dončić when they compete at EuroBasket. Sekulic sees the benefit especially in critical moments when tensions rise.
Scroll to Continue
“The most emotions come on a day when you are tired and have so much behind you. We can’t judge him,” Sekulić said. “With Goran’s presence, maybe we can take it off his shoulders, and Goran can help him with that.”
The first game on the schedule will be Slovenia vs. Lithuania on Thursday, September 1. Dismissal will be at 10:15 a.m. high school time. To watch Dončić’s game for Slovenia at EuroBasket 2022 in the USA, an ESPN+ subscription is required.
The Mavericks had a chance to sign Dragic in free agency this offseason, but he ultimately decided to join the Chicago Bulls. The prospect of a bigger role has been a major factor as the Mavs plan to use Frank Ntilikina in a key role on the back end.
You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.
Want the latest Mavericks news and insider information? Click here.
Follow DallasBasketball.com at Twitter.
Follow DallasBasketball.com at Facebook.