By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Just like the vast majority of other national teams involved in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Slovenia started preparing for the most anticipated tournament of the year, and a special visit came at the Arena Stožice in Ljubljana.
As the leader Luka Doncic joined his national team ahead of the big event, his head coach in the NBA Jason Kidd came to show some love at Slovenia’s practice. With the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022-23 season, the 24-year-old former Real Madrid phenomenon averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game.
Luka Doncic is obviously part of Slovenia’s extended 20-man list, which includes Jaka Blazic, Sasa Ciani, Vlatko Cancar, Jakob Cebasek, Ziga Dimec, Zoran Dragic, Gregor Glas, Gregor Hrovat, Urban Klavzar, Alijaz Kuncs, Miha Lapornik, Jurij Macura, Blaz Mahkovic, Jordan Morgan, Aleksey Nikolic, Bine Prepelic, Klemen Prepelic, Ziga Samar, and Mike Tobey as well.
At EuroBasket 2022, Luka Doncic posted 26.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, but couldn’t bring Slovenia all the way to the Top 4 as they collapsed against Poland. At the 2023 FIBA World Cup, with Nikola Jokic officially out and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the edge of skipping it, he remains the last-standing NBA superstar available.
Hey @dallasmavs, look who’s here 👋🏼😍#mojtim I #lukadoncic I #dallasmavs pic.twitter.com/OJh8vsUaR8
— Košarkarska zveza SIovenije (@kzs_si) July 28, 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: Košarkarska zveza SIovenije