Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks Photo: AFP
Basketball star Luka Doncic reported to duty with the Slovenian men's national team, which is seeking to qualify for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite a gruelling NBA season and injuries that hampered Doncic during the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks superstar intends to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, Greece.
While Slovenian doctors will have the final say over whether Doncic participates, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison told reporters he expects Doncic will represent his country.
"In terms of playing for the national team, I think that's probably one of his biggest joys, so I think, as long as he can walk, he's probably going to go out there and play for them. That would be my expectation," Harrison told reporters Friday at his season-ending news conference.
"He was hurting, but he's a warrior," Harrison said. "He's going to fight through all those injuries. That's just who he is. He loves to play. But yeah, I mean, multiple injuries throughout his body, that's evident, and you can see the way he's walking and running."
Doncic played through the early rounds of the postseason with a right knee sprain and left ankle soreness. In the finals, which the Boston Celtics won in five games, he sustained a thoracic (chest) contusion.
Doncic, 25, is a five-time First Team All-Pro selection. In 400 career regular-season games, he has averages of 28.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game.
He outdid those numbers in 2023-24, leading the league in scoring with 33.9 points per game and adding a career-high 9.8 assists to go with 9.2 rebounds per game. Despite the injuries, he played in 22 postseason games, averaging 40.9 minutes, 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists.
The Paris Olympics will feature 12 teams -- eight of which already have been decided.
Slovenia will compete against Croatia, New Zealand, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Greece squad for one of the four remaining berths at the qualifier, which runs from July 2-7.
Led by Doncic, Slovenia finished fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, losing to Australia 107-93 in the bronze medal game. Doncic averaged 23.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists for Slovenia, which qualified for its first-ever Olympics.
-Reuters