The Dallas Mavericks and the Slovenia national team dodged a bullet after it appeared that Luka Doncic suffered an injury. Luka Doncic left Slovenia's game with Greece in the FIBA World Cup early after he banged knees with an opposing player. The Mavs star appeared to be in pain, but multiple reports indicate that he didn't suffer a significant injury.
Before the injury scare, Doncic was scheduled to sit out the entire second half of Slovenia's warm-up game, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. ESPN's Tim McMahon reports that there are “no concerns” regarding Doncic, noting that the Mavs' guard left the game early as a precaution.
🚨 LUKA DONCIC UPDATE
The Mavs star didn't suffer an injury in Slovenia's exhibition game vs. Greece, per @TheSteinLine.
He was scheduled to sit out the second half in his second game in 3 days. https://t.co/veDdGHmbgI
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 4, 2023
Doncic scored 18 first-half points before leaving the contest. Greece beat Slovenia 88-77 in the exhibition game. Two nights earlier, Doncic posted a 21-point triple-double in fewer than 30 minutes.
It's hard to imagine that Slovenia would have any chance to win the World Cup if Doncic were forced to miss the tournament with a knee injury. With NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo both likely to miss the World Cup, Doncic is probably going to be the best player in the field.
It would, obviously, be a disaster for the Mavs if Doncic had suffered a serious injury that kept home out for a portion of the upcoming NBA season. Dallas failed to even make the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament after acquiring Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline. The Mavs re-signed Irving to a $120 million, desperate to give Doncic a superstar teammate.
Doncic played 66 games for the Mavs last season.
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