Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has been using his new and improved physique to lead his native Slovenia through EuroBasket 2025.
Slovenia clinched a spot in the round of 16 in the tournament after Doncic and company led the team to a win over Iceland. Slovenia followed it up with a dominant win over Israel, setting themselves up well ahead of the elimination rounds.
Luka has looked incredible during pool play as he leads all players in scoring with 32.4 points. He’s also second in assists with 8.4 per game and eighth in total rebounds with 8.0 a game. Doncic’s all-around game has powered an underdog Slovenia team and gives them an outside shot of beating even the toughest teams left in the tournament.
Following the win against Israel, Doncic celebrated becoming Slovenia’s all-time leading scorer in international play, via the national team’s official account:
Dame in gospodje, danes se je pisala zgodovina. Gospod 1100.
#mojtim pic.twitter.com/ZSeRHx3dGj
— Košarkarska zveza SIovenije (@kzs_si) September 4, 2025
Doncic surpassed previous all-time leading scorer Goran Dragic, who held the record with 1,095 points. Doncic reached the 1,100 point mark after his 37-point explosion against Israel, cementing his status as Slovenia’s greatest player in history.
This offseason, Luka proved all his doubters wrong when it came to his dieting and conditioning and he’s reaping the benefits of his hard work as he looks far more agile and quicker on the court. Slovenia lives and dies with Doncic’s offensive production and he’s delivered as the stakes continue to grow during EuroBasket.
As far as the Lakers are concerned, seeing their star player dominate international competition has to have the organization feeling good about their 2025-26 prospects. Doncic is being touted as an early MVP favorite because of all the motivation he has following his emotional trade from the Dallas Mavericks and it seems like he’s just getting started.
The Lakers did well this offseason to surround Doncic with quality veteran pieces to help the team’s championship hopes, but the team understands that he and LeBron James will largely be responsible for their success. For now, Doncic is focused on EuroBasket but it won’t be long before he turns his sights to the NBA regular season.
Pau Gasol super excited for Luka Doncic to lead Lakers during 2025-26 season
The Lakers and its fanbase are beyond excited for Luka Doncic and what he might do in his first full year with the purple and gold. Pau Gasol is one of the notable names who are looking forward to Doncic leading Los Angeles this upcoming season and expressed his excitement.
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