Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic expressed his goal to lead Slovenia to a medal at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. Unfortunately, thing got off to a rough start and now Doncic and Slovenia will need to lock in in a big way going forward to reach that goal.
Luka was outstanding in Slovenia’s opening group stage contest, finishing with 34 points, four rebounds, nine assists, five steals and two blocks, but it wasn’t enough as Slovenia fell to Poland 105-95 to begin their EuroBasket journey with a loss.
Doncic was an efficient 7-of-14 from the field and knocked down 17-of-18 from the free throw line, but Slovenia was unable to recover from a rough start to the second half. The Lakers star started strong with 14 points in the first quarter and it was a very close game throughout the first half as Slovenia trailed by one at the intermission. But Poland began the second half on a 15-3 run and Slovenia was never able to get back within striking distance.
Overall, Poland was much more efficient offensively, shooting 59% from the field and a ridiculous 54% from 3-point range while Slovenia shot just 48% from the field and 34% from deep. Edo Muric added 17 points for Slovenia while Gregor Hrovat pitched in 15 in the loss.
Poland doesn’t feature any current NBA players, but that didn’t matter. They were led by Jordan Loyd, an American-born naturalized Polish citizen who had a brief stint with the Toronto Raptors during the 2018-19 season. Loyd was on fire, knocking down 7-of-8 from 3-point range on his way to 32 points. Poland also got big contributions from Mateusz Ponitka with 23 points and seven rebounds, as well as 15 points and two steals from Andrzej Pluta.
While the loss was an unfortunate one for Doncic and Slovenia, there is still plenty of time to turn things around. There was also plenty for Lakers fans to be excited about with his individual performance, particularly defensively where he gave great effort throughout the game. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka were also in attendance showing their support for the face of the franchise, who most importantly came out of the game healthy.
What’s next for Luka Doncic and Slovenia
Things do not get any easier for Luka Doncic and his Slovenian teammates as they must face off with Group D favorite and one of the favorites to win the entire tournament, France, in their next contest on Aug. 30. This is the first night of a back-to-back for Slovenia, who must then turn right around and face Belgium on Aug. 31.
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