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 on Friday against Germany, which should be a fun matchup. 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 exhibition game, via Ekipa:
“I don’t know. I don’t think I will play the entire match. It all depends on the game and other things. Now, for the first time in the preparation period, I played 5 on 5 at the national team training. I feel good.”
Germany will be missing some key players, although Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder, Tristan Da Silva and others are all expected to be in action. Doncic discussed what type of test he expects from Germany in Friday’s game:
“It won’t be a big test, as it’s only the first match, but we know what kind of team Germany is. The match will be tough, they’re world champions. We’ll learn a lot from the match, we’ll see where we are. But the chemistry is great.”
Doncic just reported to Slovenia a couple of days ago 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.
How to watch Luka Doncic & Slovenia in EuroBasket
Luka Doncic and Slovenia’s first exhibition game against Germany will be stream on DAZN or the 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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