Jaxson Hayes got thrust into a starting role last season after the Los Angeles Lakers traded Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.
Hayes had spent the 2024-25 season backing up Davis, but as the lone true center on the roster he was forced to start.
Not only did he perform admirably, but he earned the trust of Luka Doncic as his rim-running partner in the pick and roll. Hayes seemed to joke that he was working on getting a Slovenian passport to play with Doncic in international competition, but he confirmed that it’s actuslly in the works, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Yeah, just a little something.”
While Hayes was unclear of the process, he explained why he wants to team up with Doncic:
“I don’t really know. We have the same agent and my parents and his parents are kind of all working on it right now. But they came to me with the idea and I think it’s each national team gets like one naturalized player, so they brought that to my attention. USA doesn’t doesn’t do open tryouts and I feel like there’s guys they invite to the USA one that shouldn’t be there and so I just wanted to play on that stage and so I’m gonna do whatever it takes to play on that stage.”
Because Hayes was interested in playing for Slovenia, he confirmed he was watching EuroBasket closer than usual:
“Yeah, I was. I was watching EuroBasket.”
The center also seemed to imply that there is a lot of support for his inclusion on the Slovenian National Team, though did express his personal desire to play for Team USA:
“It seems in the comments they all love it. I mean Luka and his family have been talking about it for the past year and a half so I’m just excited. Obviously I would love to go represent my own country but they don’t do open tryouts so it is what it is.”
Slovenia was woefully undermanned in EuroBasket 2025, so Hayes would be an immediate upgrade for their roster. It seems like it’s only a matter of time until Hayes earns his passport, so it’s a situation that’s worth monitoring.
Jaxson Hayes added healthy weight to his body this offseason
Jaxson Hayes’ athleticism didn’t help much when it came to defending big men in the post, but he said he was able to add healthy weight to his body this offseason.
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