Mavericks' Luka Doncic to Lead Slovenia NT at Olympic Qualifier: 'It's an Honor'

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic looks forward to the honor of serving as the captain of the Slovenian national team in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece.

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is eager to compete with the Slovenian national team as they prepare for the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament held in Piraeus, Greece, from July 2 to 7. He is set to compete in Friday's exhibition match against Brazil at Stozice Arena.

"I enjoy playing basketball the most, I'm really happy that it's my job, every time I wake up and there's a training session or a match waiting for me, I'm happy," Doncic said. "It's always an honor to play for the national team. I love playing for Slovenia. I always say that whenever I can, I will play for the selected team."

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Doncic always expresses his desire to play for Slovenia, and even despite coming off a lengthy NBA Finals run, he knew he would compete with the team again. He wanted to remain focused on the Mavericks during their postseason run but admitted it was an "easy" decision.

"It wasn't that easy to make a decision, mainly because of all the injuries and the length of our season, but now I'm here, and it's an honor to be here," Doncic said. "I didn't doubt it, I didn't even think much. I knew that in the end, I would be part of the national team. In the playoffs, I really only focused on Dallas and the matches, but I knew how it would be. The club knows that I will always play if I can, so there were no dilemmas."

READ MORE: Doncic to Play in Slovenia NT Exhibition Game Against Brazil

Only one team will earn an Olympic bid from each pre-Olympic qualifying tournament site. Doncic emphasized the importance of focusing on the immediate opponents, such as Croatia and New Zealand, instead of looking ahead. He admitted it would be an honor for him, the team, and the country to qualify for the Olympics.

"Performing at the Olympic Games would mean a lot, not only to me, but to the whole team and I believe also to the whole of Slovenia," Doncic said. "Qualifying for the Olympic Games is not easy, we have managed to do it once so far and it would be an honor for us to succeed again, I don't know if this tournament will be more difficult than the one in Lithuania, even then, the Greeks have an excellent team, we will focus on Croatia and New Zealand first and we talked about how to proceed."

Slovenia nearly earned a medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 due to COVID delay. The team lost 90-89 against France, resulting in a matchup against Australia in the Bronze medal game before losing that match.

"In Tokyo, we really fell a little short, I often remember those moments," Doncic said. "I think we were really unlucky, we struggled all summer, we wanted to win a medal, but in the end it didn't work out. For us, this is just another further motivation."

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As Slovenia prepares for the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament, Doncic looks forward to competing in what he expects to be an "exceptional atmosphere" in Piraeus. Slovenia could face the Greek national team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo if both teams advance.

"In Piraeus, we expect an exceptional atmosphere, we know that the Greeks are very loud, we know where we are going, we expect the same as in all the away games there," Doncic said. "We are waiting for exceptional opponents, led by the Greeks and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I don't think anyone has an answer on how to stop him, we all know what kind of player he is. It's difficult to stop him, we can only limit his contribution a little."

Doncic took on the responsibility of being the captain for Slovenia after Edo Muric suffered a torn ACL ahead of the FIBA World Cup last year. Doncic will remain in that role this season but joked that Muric enjoys talking so he will be the one to motivate the group before the game.

"I'm happy that Edo is with us again. I will remain the captain, he also agreed with that, and he is the one who prefers to talk (laughs), so he will motivate us with words before the matches , he really enjoys it," Doncic said.

Josh Nebo, an American center, will fill the team's one naturalized player slot, a role that has been previously held by Mike Tobey. Doncic looks forward to building chemistry with Nebo given his proficiency as a pick-and-roll big man. Since this was Doncic's first practice including five-on-five action, he can't go into detail yet about the connection, but looks forward to the potential.

"For now, we haven't practiced the five-on-five game, at least since I've been here," Doncic said. "Today we have the first such training, so I'll be able to say more after Friday's match with Brazil."

Doncic managed to find a rhythm despite playing with injuries in the Finals. However, he has a positive view of his health after a long NBA season. He feels that his situation has improved daily as he gears up for competition in Greece. "Everything is getting better day after day," he said.

Coming off a 4-1 series loss against the Boston Celtics, Doncic made clear it's not easy to look past such an outcome but views it as motivational for the next NBA season. For now, he remains focused on leading Slovenia to success.

"Of course, you can't quickly forget a loss in the NBA Finals, but I see things like this as motivation for the next season," Doncic said. "We know how difficult it is to even get to the finals, how much you have to invest to even get there. This was for us a good lesson, and now we have to learn something from it,"

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA offseason and of Luka Doncic at the pre-Olympic qualifier tournament in Greece.

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