After signing his contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic headed back home to begin preparation with the Slovenian National Team for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket tournament.
Despite just signing his new deal, the Lakers supported Doncic’s decision to represent his country, which will give fans their first look of how the 26-year-old will look on the court after completely transforming his body this offseason.
Doncic and Slovenia kick off exhibition play for EuroBasket against Germany, which is a fun matchup to get things underway. As he continues to work his way back into the swing of things though, Luka is not expecting to play heavy minutes in the first few exhibition games.
Doncic reported to Slovenia after signing his extension and recently revealed that he did not play basketball for a month when the Lakers’ season ended. With that being the case, some rust can be expected in the first couple of exhibition matchups. Slovenia doesn’t start group play for EuroBasket until Aug. 28 though, so there is plenty of time to knock that rust off to be ready to go for the games that count. Luka has already set a goal for Slovenia to medal in the tournament.
They will play six exhibition games in order to prepare, although it remains to be seen how many of those Doncic will suit up in.
Doncic and Slovenia will tip off against Germany on Friday at 11:15 a.m. PT in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which is the Lakers star’s hometown. They will then head to Mannheim, Germany, for another exhibition matchup. They will then play Lithuania, Latvia and Great Britain before wrapping up exhibition play against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
EuroBasket group play for Slovenia kicks off on Aug. 28 when they play Poland.
How to watch Luka Doncic & Slovenia in EuroBasket
Luka Doncic and Slovenia’s exhibition games will be stream on DAZN or Courtside 1891, FIBA’s official streaming service, which will be streaming all tournament and exhibition games. A paid subscription is necessary, however, in order to watch full games. A free subscription unlocks access to highlights and some replays.
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