FIBA EuroBasket 2025 saw a number of the best international players in the NBA today suiting up for their home countries. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic was arguably the best player in the tournament, but Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun, Lauri Markkanen and many others also took part in the prestigious tournament that ultimately saw Germany take home the gold medal.
It was also notable that the Lakers showed their full support of Doncic taking part in the tournament as team Governor Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka both traveled to Poland to watch their star player lead his country of Slovenia. And as far as Pelinka is concerned, it was an easy decision to support Luka fully, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Luka has a tremendous amount of heartfelt pride and appreciation for his roots and playing for his country,” Pelinka told ESPN. “I just think in the partnerships we have with our players, the Lakers want to be mindful of players’ passions and who they are as men and then lean in and support those things. So, around Luka, it was a very easy partnership decision that we wanted to support.”
The Lakers have always been a franchise that takes pride in fully supporting their superstars and with this being so important for Doncic to participate, they had no issues with him playing. In fact, Pelinka believes that having a bit more focus on team basketball, as opposed to the mostly individual work that takes place in the offseason, can be a good thing:
“Players playing basketball in the offseason is something that, from a leadership standpoint, I support,” Pelinka said. “I think you could say in some sense that some of the offseason and sort of the current basketball lens, especially in the States, is on individual work. And I think that sort of the team environment can get lost.”
Of course, the risk of injury is always a major concern with these tournaments, but Pelinka was not concerned about that and trusts that Doncic knows best how to prepare himself for the upcoming season:
“There’s risk in anything,” he said. “There’s risks in over-individualized training and wearing muscles down that way, or joints down that way. Luka’s incredibly thoughtful about how he approaches his way to improve as a basketball player. And I think you can tell he is the highest form of himself when he is in a competitive environment. That’s just what animates him.”
The Lakers have fully embraced Luka as the face of this franchise and are prepared to build around him for many years to come. He clearly has the complete support of the entire Lakers organization and that will only strengthen their relationship as the years go on.
Lakers were impressed by Luka Doncic’s defense at EuroBasket
Luka Doncic wasn’t just dominant offensively at EuroBasket, he was also one of the best defensive players in the tournament, leading all players in steals. And his efforts on that side of the court impressed the Lakers.
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