Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic spent the summer slimming down and getting back into shape after stamina played a major factor in his performance in L.A.’s first round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He got his first chance to show the work he put in this summer for Slovenia at FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
Slovenia was not expected to do much at EuroBasket. They were without a few important pieces due to EuroLeague clubs not allowing them to play, and Luka was going to have to play historically well for them to even get out of the group stages, let alone advance any further.
Doncic proceeded to do just that, averaging a ridiculous 34.0 points, 7.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 steals with a 36.7 efficiency rating and a 65.4 true shooting percentage. He did this while leading Slovenia past the group stage, defeating Italy in the Round of 16 and losing to Germany by only eight points in the quarterfinals.
A full helping of Doncic highlights can be found below, via FIBA Basketball:
Doncic’s points per game, steals per game and efficiency rating all were the best in the tournament up to the quarterfinal round while his assists ranked second. Not only that, even Luka’s defensive metrics were strong, despite his reputation on that end of the floor.
Slovenia’s offensive rating was 125.4 when Doncic was on the floor and 104.0 when he was off. They had a defensive rating of 117.5 when Luka was on versus 129.7 when he was off. That’s a net rating of 7.9 with Luka on the floor and minus-25.7 with him off.
It was truly a historic showing from Doncic and perhaps one of the best individual performances that EuroBasket — or any international competition — has ever seen.
Luka Doncic extension and EuroBasket performance could change Lakers plans
One of the most consistent stories coming out of the Lakers camp this summer was their unwillingness to have significant money beyond the 2025-26 season. They wanted to build what they felt was a strong team now, while keeping future flexibility open to eventually build a true contender around Luka Doncic.
One of the reasons for this was — at the start of free agency in late June — Doncic had no long-term commitments to the Lakers. He was technically entering the final season of his contract, due to a player option on the last year, and could become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. That, among other things, left the Lakers hesitant to make massive multi-year commitments.
But then in August, Doncic signed an extension that will tie him to the franchise for at least another three seasons. He can become a free agent during the summer of 2028. And that contract extension has reportedly altered the Lakers way of thinking when it comes to trades and long-term money.
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