Luka Doncic's nagging left thigh injury just won't go away. As the Dallas Mavericks superstar finished up FIBA World Cup action with his native Slovenia, though, Doncic knew he doesn't have much time to get fully healthy.

“I do not know what to say. It's not okay,” he said of his left leg injury following Slovenia's loss to Lithuania on Thursday, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Basketball. “At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA.”

Slovenia closed FIBA action on Saturday with an 89-85 victory over Italy. Doncic played despite the seventh-place game's low stakes and ongoing left thigh discomfort, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists—a positive sign considering his immense labors against Lithuania 48 hours prior.

With the Mavs tipping off training camp in less than three weeks, though, Doncic needs all the rest and rehabilitation he can get to heal an injury that first surfaced last March, causing him to miss five straight games. But as long as he suffers no setbacks from here, don't expect Doncic to miss any early-season games with Dallas, let alone Slovenia's Olympic qualifying action next summer.

“I play no matter what, even in the Olympic qualifiers, if only I'm healthy,” he said.

Luka Doncic shoulders a heavier offensive load than any other player in the NBA. Even after adding Kyrie Irving at last season's trade deadline, affording the Slovenian sensation a long-awaited perimeter co-star, it's hardly hyperbole to suggest the Mavs will only go as far in 2023-24 as Doncic can take them.

Needless to say, that pain in Doncic's left leg continues to linger is an ominous sign for Dallas as a new NBA season fast approaches.