After a lengthy period of competitive basketball, Mavericks forward Luka Doncic is eager for some “deserved” downtime. After the Slovenian national team’s loss to Greece, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was ruled out of the Olympics. He can now get some sleep. PIRAEUS, Greece — From the FIBA World Cup to the Dallas Mavericks’ season that culminated in an NBA Finals run, Luka Doncic has played a lot of basketball. Doncic decided to participate in the Olympic qualifier for Slovenia even though it had been 15 days since Game 5 against the Boston Celtics and he had to play Croatia at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Even though Doncic concluded the game against Greece with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, the skilled team captained by tournament MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo proved to be too strong for the visitors to handle, losing 93-65. Despite starting 6-foot-7 Josh Nebo at center, the tiny Slovenian team found it difficult to keep the paint intact during this competition. Both Edo Muric and Vlatko Cancar battled after rupturing their ACLs. “Greece deserves congratulations. In addition to having a fantastic squad with Giannis and many other stars as well as an amazing coach, they were also better, more rested, more aggressive, and Doncic stated as much. Because we came here for the Olympic Games, a defeat is a failure. Sadly, we encountered a more formidable foe.”
After playing over 100 games since August, Doncic understandably feels “very tired, but now, he’ll get to rest. Slovenia was attempting to qualify for consecutive Olympic appearances for the first time ever but fell short in those efforts. He still averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in these three games.
“A long and tiring season is behind me. I admit that I am very tired, and at the same time, I am aware that I could give more of myself in a different state,” Doncic said. “Now I have a well-deserved rest waiting for me, and next year, I will have a new national team campaign at the European Championship.”
Slovenia head coach Aleksander Sekulic praised Doncic for competing with Slovenia after such a long NBA season. The option of simply taking a vacation to rest and worrying about competing with the national team later was reasonable for Doncic, but he chose otherwise.
“First of all, when we talk about the Slovenian national team, we always have to talk about Luka Doncic because that’s the way it is, and that’s beyond that he’s a superstar,” Sekulic explained. “He’s a great guy coming, playing for the national team after having a long season—sacrificing his free time playing for Slovenia. We are not in a great situation right now regarding the team [or] the roster. We have problems of our own, even though he came to help the team, to give everything he has.”
