The Los Angeles Lakers’ front office is 100 percent behind superstar Luka Dončić and his decision to represent his home country, Slovenia, in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament. Team governor Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka were on hand in Poland to watch Dončić and Team Slovenia’s final practice before the tournament.
“It’s an easy choice,” Dončić explained. “I always want to represent my country. Always did. No matter what. Obviously, if I’m injured, I’m not gonna play, but if I have nothing, I will always play.”
Pelinka stated the franchise wants Dončić to know that they have his back, so to speak, and that everyone supports him as he represents his country. Along with Pelinka and Ms. Buss were Kurt and Linda Rambis, along with the director of player performance and health, Dr. Leroy Sims. Dončić tweaked his knee during Slovenia’s warm-up schedule, from which he’s since been cleared to return, but the Lakers are not worried.
“We just wanted to make a statement to Luka that we support what he does for his country. That’s really important to the Lakers when we have a player that’s the face of our franchise, just to show that support for him,” Pelinka said.
“And it’s just great to see him with his teammates, interacting, having fun. As you said, he is in great shape, really committed to working hard this summer, and to be able to watch that in person was worth flying over the ocean to come be with him.”
On Aug. 3, Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers following a blockbuster trade to the franchise last season. The Lakers sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in exchange for Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in a three-team deal that also included the Utah Jazz.
The five-time All-NBA selection averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 boards and 7.7 assists per game spanning his time with the Mavericks and Lakers last season.
After the trade, the Mavericks went on to win the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft via the lottery, selecting consensus No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg out of Duke.
While the Lakers are focused on winning a championship with Dončić and LeBron James, they are fully on board with Dončić’s participation in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament. As long as he’s healthy, Dončić will represent his country, and the Lakers will continue to support the endeavor — especially following his offseason transformation aimed at improved conditioning for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season.
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