Mavs’ Luka Ahead of World Cup: ‘It’s Important’ to Represent Slovenia

Mavs superstar Luka Doncic spoke on the importance of representing Slovenia and touched on his FIBA World Cup preparation.

OKINAWA, Japan — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is set to take the court for the first time at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with Slovenia on Saturday in a matchup against Venezuela. 

While Slovenia is considered to be heavy favorites against Venezuela, the team is not going to overlook the opponent. There is a perception from Slovenia's side that Venezuela is an improved team compared to the squad they defeated a few years ago.

"First of all, we met Venezuela two years ago when we played pre-Olympic qualifiers we played in the semifinals," Slovenian national team coach Aleksander Sekulic said. "I know everybody is thinking about us as favorites and Venezuela underdogs, but I think we have to go on the court and prove this.

"I believe they're a better team than the team we played two years ago," Sekulic explained. "We can expect that match from them."

What's at stake for all particpitants at the World Cup is qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Doncic is motivated to compete for such status, even though he feels Slovenia should already qualify regardless. 

"I think as European champions, we should qualify anyways, but we didn't," Doncic said "We know it's great. Countries from around the world are here, so I'm happy to be here."

While the value of competition is present, Doncic believes the impact of representing Slovenia goes well beyond the surface. He often states that he will always play for his country when given the chance and appreciates being able to promote the nation.

"It's important," said Doncic of promoting Slovenia. "I've been doing this since I left Slovenia, so it's really important to me. There are great places in Slovenia to visit."

Doncic doesn't have a backcourt co-star like Goran Dragic as he had in previous international play with Slovenia. He also lost his only other NBA teammate, Vlatko Cancar, to a torn ACL during the team's warmup schedule. While Doncic is an elite threat to score and pass, doing so heavily relies on him to initiate the action. 

With Slovenia, Doncic played more off-ball in the team's final warmup match against Japan. Doing so enables him to do more attacking off the catch, as well as gain pre-catch positioning in the post. He views playing off-ball as a way to better balance his energy throughout games. 

"I think it's exploring," Doncic said of playing more off-ball. "It gives me a little more rest trying to play off-ball. It's something new, but obviously, it's going to come good to me."

Against top competition such as Spain and Team USA, Slovenia did struggle to defend and rebound. Both areas remained points of emphasis during the preparation process ahead of World Cup play.

"Yeah, you're right. It's a good observation," Sekulic said. "We try to pay attention to this and I think we need to improve in this part of the game. That's part of the defense anyway, so I hope we, we are gonna do a good job. We will. We paid attention a lot to this."

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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