Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

NBA Makes Mistake After Luka Doncic’s EuroBasket Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 3:45 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic is one of many international stars carrying the torch for the NBA in 2025.

The 26-year-old was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia and starred for Real Madrid in Spain before being selected No. 3 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. Since he has been in the league, fellow foreign-born players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) have won every MVP award.

Doncic was at the center of one of the biggest storylines of last season when he was dealt by the Dallas Mavericks, joining LeBron James and the Lakers at the trade deadline. Although Doncic averaged 30.2 points per game in the playoffs, his season in purple and gold ended with a first-round exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite his status as one of the faces of the NBA, the league made a critical mistake on Tuesday while attempting to let fans know how he was faring with Slovenia in EuroBasket 2025.

The NBA may have been a little too eager to showcase Doncic's 26-point performance against Iceland on Tuesday. The notification mistakenly said "Luka Sends Serbia Through" instead of "Slovenia."

It is a scary proposition to imagine Doncic on the Serbian team alongside Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jovic — but that is far from the reality.

Doncic Leads Slovenia to EuroBasket Round of 16

Slovenia needed the big game from Doncic after starting the European tournament with back-to-back losses.

They gave up 105 points to Poland and 103 points to France, putting them at a significant disadvantage in Group D — four of the six teams advance from each group.

Slovenia righted the ship with an 86-69 win over Belgium on Sunday, setting up a massive tilt with Iceland that provided the chance to secure a spot in the knockout phase before having to face group leaders Israel in the final game.

Luka Doncic carrying his Slovenia to the Round of 16 #EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/FIGwrrrKEB
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 2, 2025

Doncic finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the 87-79 win against Iceland. Aleksej Nikolic was the Robin to his Batman, contributing 17 points and five assists as the only other Slovenian in double figures.

Slovenia won EuroBasket in 2017, led by legendary guard Goran Dragic. Doncic was on the roster in 2017, but he will begin his quest for a second title as the star man on Saturday when the round of 16 begins at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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