Will Luka Doncic play for the Slovenian National Team during the 2024 Olympics? Doncic's latest move suggests he will. The Dallas Mavericks star has joined the team ahead of their Olympic qualifying tournament, via Kosarkarska zveza Slovenije.
The team will closely monitor Doncic's injury concerns. He battled injuries throughout the NBA postseason but managed to play in every game nonetheless.
NBA insider Mac Stein provided an update on Doncic's Olympics status as well.
“Dallas' Luka Dončić has joined the Slovenian national team in advance of the Olympic qualifying tournament it will contest in Greece from July 2-7 and is expected to begin practicing this week,” Stein wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Although his status is not officially confirmed, it seems likely that Doncic will play unless his injuries prove to be too problematic. Even Mavericks president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison is expecting Doncic to play.
“In terms of playing for the national team, I think that's probably one of his biggest joys,” Harrison said on Friday while speaking to reporters. “So I think as long as he can walk he's probably going to go out there and play for them. That would be my expectation.”
It should be noted that Harrison also addressed Luka Doncic's previous injury concerns.
“You guys all know Luka, you see the way he moves,” Harrison said. “He was hurting. But he's a warrior, he's gonna fight through all those injuries. That's just who he is. He loves to play. Multiple injuries throughout his body, that's evident.
“You can see the way he's walking and running. But again, he's a warrior so he's going to fight through it.”
Luka Doncic hoping to lead Slovenian National Team in Olympics
Slovenia will certainly receive a pivotal boost if Doncic is available. The team has two important games to begin the qualifying tournament against Croatia and New Zealand.
Slovenia is looking to build off their momentum from the 2020 Olympics. They qualified for the Olympics after advancing through the qualifying tournament. Luka Doncic led the team at a very young age, so he will be even more prepared in 2024.
The 2024 Summer Olympics project to be full of excitement. There are no shortage of sports that will feature competitive games and matches. But Olympics basketball will be especially interesting.
Many international teams are improving. Team USA has a star-studded roster in 2024, but perhaps a few international teams can challenge the Americans.
Slovenia will unquestionably be a team worth keeping an eye on. As mentioned earlier, they found success in 2024. Slovenia lost in heartbreaking fashion in the tournament, but they displayed intriguing potential for the future.
Doncic will likely have extra motivation after recently losing in the NBA Finals as well. He's extremely competitive and will do whatever it takes to lead his team to a victory at the Olympics.
For now, the Slovenian National Team will focus on getting the job done during the qualifying tournament. We will continue to monitor and provide updates on Luka Doncic's status as they are made available.
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