Fans in Disbelief With Nikola Jokic After Luka Doncic’s Historic EuroBasket Triple-Double

On August 31, 2025, Luka Doncic once again turned the basketball universe on its head. Slovenia desperately needed a win at EuroBasket 2025, sitting at 0-2, and Doncic delivered with the kind of performance that instantly enters history books. In a must-win game against Belgium, the Slovenian superstar posted a monster triple-double: 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in just 30 minutes of action. 

The performance wasn’t just good, it was historic. Luka Doncic became only the fifth player in EuroBasket history to record a triple-double, joining Toni Kukoc (1995), Andrei Kirilenko (2007), Vassilis Spanoulis (2007), and Nikola Vucevic (2017).  Slovenia, riding Luka’s brilliance, dismantled Belgium 86-69, dominating 40-18 in the paint and out-rebounding their opponents 43-31. The game shifted after Belgium’s only lead lasted, get this, 44 seconds. 

What made Luka Doncic’s triple-double even sweeter was how it came about. He started stone cold, missing his first four shots, clanking like Dwight Howard at the three-point contest. But after shaking off the rust, he finished 9-for-23 from the field, including 2-for-11 from deep. Not pretty numbers, sure, but here’s the kicker: those bricks didn’t matter because Luka controlled every other part of the game. He threaded passes through tight spaces, bullied Belgium’s defense in the paint, and orchestrated Slovenia’s offense like a maestro.

Key help came from Alen Omic (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Edo Muric (10 points), while the Slovenian bench flexed with a 28-15 scoring edge. But make no mistake, this was all about Luka Doncic. He has now carved his name alongside EuroBasket legends, and his place in FIBA history is growing fast. Slovenia, after losing their first two games against France and Poland, registered their first win of the tournament and now need to win just one more to qualify for the knockouts.

And of course, when Luka makes history, fans react. Oh, did they react.

Fan Reactions: Luka, Records, and the Jokic Comparison

“Luka just keeps rewriting history books 📖🔥” That’s not hyperbole, it’s a fact. Luka Doncic has a knack for setting records. At 26, he’s the youngest player ever to reach 400 EuroBasket points and the fastest to 400 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists in the 21st century, doing it all in just 19 games. NBA fans know this script well: Luka already owns the Mavericks’ all-time single-game scoring record (73 points), the most points in a triple-double (60), and he’s seventh on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list with 82. 

But this raises the inevitable question: how does all this translate back to the NBA?

“How does this translate to the NBA this coming season?” Glad you asked. EuroBasket forces Luka Doncic into heavy minutes, tighter whistles, and more physical paint battles than he sees in the NBA. That means he’s sharpening his late-game decision-making and conditioning under playoff-level stress. In other words, he’s basically doing basketball CrossFit in Europe, and the Lakers will reap the rewards. His ability to toggle between “scoring Luka” (39 points vs. France) and “playmaking Luka” (26-10-11 vs. Belgium) is exactly what Los Angeles needs. But here’s the cautionary tale: if the Lakers overwork him like Slovenia, he could wear down. They’ll need to manage his minutes wisely.

And speaking of another MVP-level stat-sheet stuffer, fans quickly dragged Nikola Jokic into the conversation.

“Has Nikola Jokic come close with this?” Yes and no. Nikola Jokic has flirted with EuroBasket triple-doubles. His closest came in 2022, when he put up 29-11-7 against Poland, just three assists shy. In this year’s tournament, he had 39-10-4 against Latvia, which is absurd, but still not a triple-double. Jokic is a walking basketball algorithm, but he hasn’t cracked the EuroBasket triple-double code. Fans can’t quite believe that Doncic now belongs to a club that excludes one of the best players in the world.

“Triple Double Luka Doncic. Apparently, only the 5th player in FIBA EuroBasket to achieve that feat. And, somehow, Nikola Jokic is not on that list. 🤯” That disbelief is fair. Luka Doncic just joined Kukoc, Kirilenko, Spanoulis, and Vucevic in the official FIBA triple-double club. Jokic, meanwhile, owns Serbia’s single-game EuroBasket scoring record and leads them in 30+ point games since 2007, but he’s not on this particular list. 

“Doncic’s triple-double is impressive, but it’s easy to shine when the team is built entirely around feeding one superstar.” Now, this take has some truth. Slovenia runs a heliocentric offense around Luka Doncic, much like the Rockets did with James Harden. Luka leads Slovenia in points, assists, and touches, logging mid-30s minutes while carrying the full creation load. That’s a lot of weight, but here’s the rebuttal: Slovenia isn’t padding Luka’s stats. They just beat Belgium by 17, held them to 69 points, and controlled the boards. This wasn’t an “empty-calorie” stat line; it was the best player on the floor bending the game to his will.

Luka Doncic’s historic EuroBasket triple-double isn’t just another stat to file away. It’s a reminder that he’s not only one of the best players in the NBA but also a generational figure in international basketball. The fact that Nikola Jokic, the stat-sheet sorcerer himself, has never done this makes Luka’s feat even more jaw-dropping. As Slovenia heads into crucial games against Iceland and Israel, all eyes will stay locked on Doncic. And for Lakers fans waiting for the NBA season, this EuroBasket run is basically the sneak peek trailer of a blockbuster, one where Luka Doncic plays the lead role, and the rest of the league is just trying to survive his box-office numbers.