Luka Doncic Fierce Determination. | © Twitter (@mavsmoneyball)
Luka Doncic plans to play for the Slovenian national team in the Paris Olympics next month, as long as his knees hold up. After helping the Dallas Mavericks reach the NBA Finals this season, he aims to assist Slovenia in qualifying for the Olympics.
On Wednesday, Slovenia announced a list of 16 players, including Luka Doncic, who might play in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece starting July 2. If Slovenia wins this tournament, which includes teams from Greece, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Croatia, and Egypt, they will qualify for the 12-team men’s basketball event at the Paris Olympics in late July.
Doncic, speaking at the NBA Finals media day in Boston, said he will play if his knee is healthy. The knee issue he’s had during the playoffs is the only thing that might stop him.
Doncic has represented Slovenia in several international competitions, including the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic. He has also played in EuroBasket twice and for Slovenia in last year’s World Cup, which ended just a few weeks before the Mavericks’ training camp began this season.
On Wednesday, Doncic was informed that, depending on the length of the NBA Finals, he would be playing between 90 and 95 games this season. Doncic thinks the actual number is even higher.
“Doncic said. “You forgot the World Cup before the season.”
If the series between Dallas and the Boston Celtics lasts all seven games, Doncic would be playing until June 23. Slovenia has an exhibition game against Brazil on June 28 to prepare for the tournament in Greece, so Doncic might go straight from playing for his club to playing for his country in the same week.
Doncic scored 48 points in his Olympic debut game in 2021, tying for the second-most points in any men’s Olympic game and finishing seven points shy of the 55-point record set by Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt in 1988.
Eight teams have already secured spots in the 12-team Olympic men’s basketball field. France qualified as the host nation, and seven other teams — the four-time defending gold medalist U.S., World Cup champion Germany, Canada, Japan, South Sudan, Serbia, and Australia — qualified based on their performances at last summer’s World Cup in the Philippines.
Slovenia is one of the 24 teams competing from July 2-7 for the remaining four spots in the Paris Olympics. These teams are divided into four qualifying tournaments, each with six nations. The winners of these tournaments will secure their spots in the Paris Olympics.
