Dallas Basketball

Luka vs. Team USA: American Mavs Fans Favor Slovenia?

DallasBasketball.com conducts a Twitter poll asking American Dallas Mavericks fans who they’re pulling for in the FIBA World Cup: Team USA or Luka Doncic's Slovenia? The results might surprise you.

Dalton Trigg

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Is American nationalism dead when it comes to rooting interests in international sports? Ok, maybe that's over exaggerating things a little bit, but when it comes to a handful of American Dallas Mavericks fans, they'll apparently be pulling for Luka Doncic's success over their own nation.

Earlier this week, we conducted a DallasBasketball.com Twitter poll to gauge where fans' loyalty lies ahead of Saturday's FIBA World Cup preparation game between Team USA and Slovenia. The question: If you are an American MFFL, who are you rooting for more in the FIBA World Cup?

The results: Out of 1,118 votes placed during the 24-hour period the poll was open, 74.1 percent of American Mavs fans chose Doncic's Slovenia, while 25.9 percent stayed true to their country and chose Team USA.

This was just a small-sample poll, but it does raise some questions about why there isn't more pride with American fans rooting for Team USA like there is when it comes to their NBA team rooting interests.

Has Team USA been so dominant throughout the years, that it's just more fun for some to root for the underdog? Could it be that Doncic, despite being on a much-less talented roster, is the highest-profile NBA athlete between Team USA and Slovenia this year? Or, perhaps we're just simply underrating the true meaning of MFFL – "Mavs Fan For Life."

Regardless of the reasoning, many American Mavs fans will be rooting for Doncic against Team USA when they meet on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT, then they'll turn that unwavering MFFL loyalty to Dirk Nowitzki being enshrined at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later that evening.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter. SUBSCRIBE to Mavs Step Back on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here. Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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