While basketball fans have been starved of NBA action since the Finals in June, many have enjoyed watching the EuroBasket.
Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and several other NBA stars have competed at the tournament, and none better than Luka Doncic.
Doncic has led Slovenia all the way to the quarter-finals after beating Italy 84-77 in the first knockout round.
Reporter Marc Stein has explained how the Los Angeles Lakers superstar epitomises the “amazing” competition.
Photo by Christina Pahnke – sampics/Corbis via Getty ImagesMarc Stein lauds Luka Doncic and EuroBasket competition
Stein has been so impressed with the commitment from some of the world’s best players at EuroBasket.
And nobody has put more effort into the tournament than Doncic, who has carried a below-par Slovenia roster to the last eight.
Doncic even suffered an “injury scare” that prompted Lakers fans to tell him to sit out the competition.
Thankfully, the 26-year-old did not take their advice and now has a chance to achieve something remarkable with his country.
“It’s amazing how much they care about this. Luka Doncic has the weakest team around him that he has ever had on the senior level with Slovenia,” Stein said before Slovenia beat Italy.
“He had the injury scare, and I’m sure Lakers fans were like, ‘Take the summer off and don’t play.’ What’s happened is that Slovenia went 3-2 in group play.
“He doesn’t have [Vlatko] Cancar or Josh Nebo, so Slovenia’s two most accomplished players not named Luka Doncic can’t even play, and Luka Doncic has Slovenia in the [round-of-16] against Italy with a chance to win.
“Luka has been playing out of this world, and it is all for pride and because winning EuroBasket in 2017 is arguably Slovenia’s greatest sporting achievement ever. You know, they have a Tour de France champion and a Stanley Cup champion.
“But what that title means, Slovenia beating Serbia to win the EuroBasket in 2017, I can’t put into words. You know, if you ask Slovenians how much that thing means. They will tell you that it is massive.”
Luka Doncic’s EuroBasket quarter-final opponent confirmed
Slovenia already know their quarter-final opponent after beating Italy in the round of 16 on Sunday.
They will face the tournament favorites, Germany, led by NBA players Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder.
DateQuarter-finalSeptember 9Lithuania vs GreeceSeptember 9Turkey vs PolandSeptember 10Germany vs SloveniaSeptember 10Finland vs Georgia
Elsewhere, Antetokounmpo’s Greece will take on Lithuania for a place in the semi-final of EuroBasket 2025.
Former All-Star Lauri Markkanen will go head-to-head with Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze when Finland play Georgia on Wednesday.