Frustrated Luka Doncic Had ‘Direct’ Words for Teammates After Blowout Loss
Aug 25, 2025 10:32 PM EDT
Things have not gotten off to quite the start that Luka Doncic had hoped for his Slovenia team as it prepares to open play in the EuroBasket tournament this week. Slovenia managed a win over the second-tier Great Britain national team, but did not win any of its other prep games for EuroBasket, going 1-5 this summer as it preps for the opener against Poland on Thursday.
The poor pre-tournament slate was highlighted by the last game on the schedule, a 106-72 loss to Serbia in which Doncic did little to hide his frustration. While bad body language has been a criticism of Doncic in his NBA career, the 34-point loss to one of the tournament favorites was widely seen as worthy of frustration.
Now, according to Sport Klub, we know that not only did Doncic make his feelings known during the game, but he was very vocal with teammates after the game in the locker room, too.
The site reported: “The visibly frustrated captain Luka Doncic also played his part behind the tightly closed locker room doors . He is said to have addressed some direct words to his teammates.”
Why Is Luka Doncic Playing in EuroBasket?
While some around the Lakers might have preferred that Doncic skip the summer tournament and continue focus on conditioning and preparing for the upcoming Lakers season, Doncic has always felt a duty to play for the national team. And, in truth, NBA teams typically stay out of the way when it comes to international players’ commitments to their national teams.
Doncic has been part of Slovenia’s national team since 2017, when he was just 18 years old. That team won the EuroBasket title for the only time in Slovenian history, but was just sixth in the last tournament, in 2022. They were just seventh in the 2023 World Cup and did not qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Doncic said his desire to to represent his country is deep-seated, citing the passion of Slovenian fans.
“That’s why I always play, because of pride and I like to represent my country,” he said on the “Mind the Game” podcast. “But you see, my country lives for sports. For how small we are, I think we have great sports people. Bicyclists, skiers, it’s a lot. But that’s when the crowd is into it. I think we give back a lot to our country, so that’s why the crowd and the people are really into sports.”
Can Slovenia Win EuroBasket?
The Slovenians struggled in recent years, and while they had veteran guard Goran Dragic in 2017, they don’t have a cool-headed veteran to pair with Doncic these days. Former Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar opted out, a big blow to the team, and the thinness of the roster has shown up during this summer.
The current FIBA power rankings have Slovenia falling out of the Top 10, down to No. 11, heading into EuroBasket, making them a longshot to win the tournament.
The good news is that Slovenia figures to have a relatively easy path to the knockout stage. They’re in Group D, where France (No. 3) is the only team ranked higher than them in the FIBA poll.
But Slovenia figures to have tough challenges against Israel (No. 12) and in the opener against Poland (No. 15). Despite all of that, at DraftKings, the team is rated sixth (tied) in betting odds to win EuroBasket at plus-2,200–but that’s mostly because of Doncic’s name.
Serbia is the favorite at plus-115.
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