Luka Doncic and Slovenia opened their EuroBasket 2022 campaign on Thursday in a matchup against Lithuania. It was the start of Luka's quest for a gold medal, but he still had the time to pose with an old friend amid all the pressure.

Doncic took to Instagram to share a photo of himself “chilling” with Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):

Germany is one of the host nations for the esteemed tournament, and being that Dirk is the most prominent basketball player in the nation's history, life-size standees of the former NBA MVP is understandably posted all over the place. Nowitzki also received the ultimate honor on Thursday as Germany retired his jersey — a first in international basketball history. Naturally, Luka had to honor him in the most Luka Doncic way possible.

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Doncic was all business on the basketball court, though. He put up a 14-point, 10-assist performance as he led Slovenia to an opening day win against a testy Lithuania side, 92-85. The Mavs superstar earlier stated that they're going for the gold medal in the tournament, and they're off to a great start.

Luka and Co. have back-to-back games this weekend against Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They get a couple of days off before another back-to-back set on Tuesday and Wednesday against Germany and France, respectively. It's going to be a tough road ahead for Slovenia, but with Doncic on their side, anything's possible for this squad.

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