While the NBA season is still a couple of months away, the Lakers Nation has already felt the tremors of an injury scare. The 26-year-old guard was in action against Latvia in a preparation game for the highly anticipated EuroBasket 2025 when his teammate collided with him during a play in the third quarter of the matchup. While no one initially noticed what had happened, things got serious when the five-time All-NBA guard remained on the floor for several moments, and it became clear that something was wrong.
Sure enough, Doncic was in visible pain as he held onto his right knee. To make matters worse, he hobbled to the locker room as the Laker Nation held their breath collectively. However, after a few moments, the point guard returned to the sidelines and was walking just fine, indicating that there was nothing to worry about. In fact, reports even suggested that the guard insisted on returning to the game, but the medical team did not allow him.
While that’s a good sign, the medical team did do the right thing by not letting a small contusion turn into a huge problem. Since then, there has been a question on everyone’s mind: Will this scary incident make the Lakers pull the plug on Luka Doncic’s EuroBasket 2025 campaign even before it tips off? Well, that doesn’t seem likely. While many fans have been demanding the Purple & Gold shut down Doncic for the summer, that doesn’t seem the right way to go about it.
That’s not only what we think, but even a trusted Lakers journalist, Trevor Lane, shares this thought. His suggestion instead? Well, he thinks that while the Lakers Nation’s concerns are understandable, the best way to go forward is to let the point guard get some playing time under his belt. “Well, again, the fact that it’s just a contusion, the fact that it’s not believed to be serious, I would assume that means that Luka will be playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket. They’re not going to just shut him down.” Lane stated.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Basketball – Men – Group C – Argentina v Slovenia – Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan – July 26, 2021. Luka Doncic of Slovenia in action with Luca Vildoza of Argentina REUTERS/Brian Snyder
However, you might be wondering what incentive the Lakers have by letting Doncic play, right? Lane also had an explanation for that. “What you really want to see here is Luka play a little bit in EuroBasket, get into rhythm for the NBA season, and then be fresh and ready to go. Shut things down for a few weeks before training camp starts up, and then be ready to go in preseason for the Lakers,” he said. The Lakers Insider did make a fair point while giving us what the front office might be thinking about this situation.
Lane elaborated that despite the scare, Luka Doncic will most likely be allowed to play because the Purple & Gold want him to be in rhythm before the regular season. However, while letting the guard participate seems to be the option that the Lakers will be opting for, we all know that there’s no knowing when the front office decides to switch their plans. So, whether L.A. allows Luka Doncic to play in the EuroBasket 2025 will be something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks, but what will happen if they don’t?
What will Slovenia’s EuroBasket campaign look like if the Lakers shut down Luka Doncic?
While all the signs after yesterday’s incident point to Luka Doncic continuing his summer with the Slovenian national team, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the NBA last season, it’s to expect the unexpected. So, it’s only right to explore the scenario where the Los Angeles Lakers decide to shut down their superstar point guard before their training camp. What could that look like? Well, to be honest, that would be a huge blow to Slovenia’s EuroBasket 2025 campaign.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Basketball – Men – Group C – Argentina v Slovenia – Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan – July 26, 2021. Luka Doncic of Slovenia in action with Patricio Garino of Argentina REUTERS/Brian Snyder
After all, which team would get better if you take out their best player, right? So far, Doncic has suited up for two of the four preparation games that Slovenia has played. And while they’ve lost all four, with Doncic, they’ve fared much better. So, without him, Slovenia will struggle in a competitive group D, where they will go up against the likes of France and more. If you don’t have to take our word for it, Slovenia’s record without their superstar speaks for itself.
During the FIBA World Cup 2023, they finished 7th with a 5-3 record, with all five wins coming with Luka on the court. Not just that, the 26-year-old has been their key contributor in the Tokyo 2020 and several other campaigns. So, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that if the Lakers were to not allow Doncic to play in EuroBasket 2025 for Slovenia, they might not even make it out of the group stage. That’s why it will be crucial to see what the Lakers decide, as we keep a close eye on the situation.
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