Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is doing what he does best for Slovenia at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. He has been remarkable through three group stage games, scoring 34 points, followed by 39 points and then a 26-point triple-double to get Slovenia its first win of the tournament. It was the fifth triple-double in EuroBasket history.
This is the first competitive basketball that Luka is playing since losing in the first round of the NBA playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves and slimming down significantly. He looks quicker and has dominated international play so far, even if it has only resulted in a 1-2 record in group play thus far.
Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic had plenty of kind words for Doncic after the historic triple-double against Belgium on Sunday, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic:
“That’s what Luka does,” Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said. “The thing is that I saw he made a triple-double, but what impresses me is the way he approached this game, knowing that we are a better team with better individuals. Even though he never underestimated anyone and he was locked in from the first to last minute. That only just shows the greatness, not only the stats, but his mindset.”
The Slovenian National Team needed a win against Belgium after starting 0-2 in group play. The top four of the six teams in Group D move on to the knockout stages and a third loss might have been the end of Luka’s run in EuroBasket.
It’s still unclear if they will get out of the group or not. Even if they do, they are not expected to win any knockout round games given the lack of depth on their roster around Doncic. But seeing him do superhuman things on one of the biggest stages in the sport is a great sight for Slovenia fans and for Lakers fans.
France apologizes to Luka Doncic for final EuroBasket layup
Perhaps the most talked-about moment of the tournament so far was not a highlight or a big win. Instead, it was a controversial end-of-game sequence involving Luka Doncic in Slovenia’s loss to France. With the clock ticking down and France up by an insurmountable margin, guard Sylvain Francisco started to dribble the ball out, as is customary.
With about 10 seconds left, Luka went to shake his hand, and he accepted, signaling the end of the game. But once Slovenia’s players all started to walk off the court, Francisco charged towards the basket and scored a last second layup, leading to an upset Doncic and Slovenia instigating an on-court tiff with France.
It’s a tricky situation where neither player is necessarily in the wrong, as point differential is a major tiebreaker in EuroBasket group play. But Francisco offered an apology to Doncic, as well as an explanation.
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