By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic and the Slovenian national team punched their ticket for the Olympic Games, a historic achievement, and all eyes were on the young Mavs superstar. That includes the Team USA coach Gregg Popovich who had only high praise for Doncic during his latest media availability from the training camp of Team USA in Las Vegas.
“He’s a spectacular player, as we all know. He is one of the best players in the world, and I emphasize, in the world. He showed himself early on in Europe, and he was a fast study in the NBA, for sure. He’s fun to watch. His skills, his competitiveness, his size, his innate basketball IQ is so impressive. You put four hard-working people around him, and you’ve got a hell of a team, and that is what they have. They are also aggressive, execute well, the coaching staff is very committed, everybody wants to win, and nobody wants to win any more than Luka. I’m sure he’s very happy right now, and he’ll continue to compete at a high level without any doubt,” he said.
Doncic was huge during the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Lithuania. He averaged 21.3 points, 11.3 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from deep. He logged a historic triple-double in the Final game with 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Slovenia will play in Group C with Spain, Argentina, and Japan while Team USA is in Group A with France, Czech Republic and Iran.