While the NBA is on hiatus, basketball fiends have been getting their fix from EuroBasket. One positive of that is that Luka Doncic has been getting in some good reps attempting to carry Team Slovenia on his back. Despite some recent losses, The Don has been putting up crazy numbers.
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How crazy? In Slovenia’s showdown against Poland, he had 34 points, 9 assists, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Against France, he scored 39 points, had 8 assists, and had 8 rebounds. In his most recent outing against Belgium, he recorded the fourth triple-double in EuroBasket history with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals. He’s been on fire.
Breaking down his EuroBasket performances was the very popular Club 520 podcast. As the panel was watching highlights of his Belgium burner, ex-NBA star Jeff Teague commented on seeing Luka mouth off at the opposing team. What was Doncic possibly screaming about?
“He be talking crazy, or he complaining. I don’t know if he talking crazy or complaining,” stated Teague in only the way that he could. This was clearly done in jest, as the 26-year-old superstar is known to mouth off to the refs at times when he’s not getting his way.
Doncic himself has admitted to this. Back in 2021, he told CBS Sports that he was unfocused at times because of his tiffs with the officials. “I’m complaining way too much, and I’ve gotta work on that. I just have to stay calm and not talk to them, I have to learn from that,” he claimed at the time.
This occurred in the 2024 NBA Finals for Doncic, too. After the Mavericks went down 3-0, he told the media, “I just really wanna win. Sometimes I don’t show it the right way,” in regards to his relationship with the refs. It’s understandable. NBA officiating has been abysmal for years. It’s hard for players to keep their cool when they’re putting everything on the line, and it can all be taken away by a horrific call.
Luka may be a bit more mouthy in EuroBasket, but that’s because Slovenia’s fate in the tournament hangs in the balance. They are currently 4th in Group D, and they will need to maintain that or improve in order to qualify for the round of 16. Doncic has shown that he’s more than capable of putting in big performances, but will his stats be enough to get Slovenia into the knockouts?
With games against Iceland and Israel left, Slovenian hopes and dreams are all firmly on Doncic.
