Last year was Luka Doncic’s first full season in Los Angeles since that February 2025 trade. While he had high-scoring streaks on the court, off the court, he was away from his daughters. During his recent return to Slovenia, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar revealed the emotional toll created by a painful international custody battle over his two daughters, Gabriela and Olivia.
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While Sports Illustrated followed the Lakers’ team bonding retreat in his hometown in Slovenia, the 27-year-old opened up about getting to spend the summer with his daughters.
“You know, obviously I had a lot on my mind last year. But you know, I think this year I spent the whole summer with my daughters, which is amazing for me. I was very happy just to be with them,” Doncic said.
His elder daughter, Gabriela, with some help from her baby sister, even made him a bracelet that he hasn’t taken off. You can see that pastel bracelet on Luka’s wrist in his SI cover too.
The gift from his girls is significant to him after the heartache of spending nearly an entire NBA season separated from his children, something he doesn’t intend to repeat.
“Yeah, it was pretty hard,” he admitted. “You know, I didn’t see them almost the whole season. Yeah, I can’t go another season like that. You want to spend time with your kids every day. So last season was pretty hard. You know, I saw them for five days in the whole season, which is impossible to do, but you know, I had to focus on basketball and still perform.”
His then-fiancee, Anamaria Goltes was pregnant with their second child at the time and was in Slovenia with their families. In late 2025, Doncic took a leave of absence from NBA games to travel to Slovenia to be there at Olivia’s birth.
A few months later, the couple separated and fought a multi-national custody battle for their daughters in California and in Slovenia. Goltes filed a California petition seeking child support and attorney fees, which she withdrew in August. Doncic had earlier filed in Slovenia seeking immediate contact and joint custody; that Slovenian case remains active, and he has since filed a Hague Convention petition to secure access rights and bring his daughters to the US.
Doncic’s emotional disclosures arrive amid that escalating legal situation with his former fiancee. The couple, who began dating in 2016 and got engaged in 2023, are embroiled in an ongoing custody dispute in Slovenia over their daughters. Doncic reportedly has filed a petition under the Hague Convention to bring his daughters to the US.
The Hague Convention serves as an international legal framework designed to safeguard parental access rights and resolve cross-border custody disputes. Addressing the court petition in a statement to The Athletic, Doncic expressed his commitment to his daughters.
“Nothing is more important to me than my daughters. I will do whatever it takes to make sure they have both parents present in their lives.”
Doncic chose to forgo playing for the Slovenian national team over the summer to spend maximum time with his children while he was there. Writing to his followers on Instagram last May, the Lakers guard explained the painful compromise.
“I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life… I have been forced to make a difficult decision between traveling and playing for the Slovenian national team and being with my daughters this summer. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely difficult for me to see them over the past eight months.”
After the September 25 reported target deadline passed without a settlement in the Slovenian court, Doncic returned to Los Angeles ahead of Lakers training camp without formal guarantees about when or how often he would be able to see his daughters during the 2026–27 campaign. Before leaving Europe, Doncic published a heartwarming tribute on social media translated from Slovenian.
“G+O, no matter where in the world your Dad is, there is not a day you are not in my heart. Wherever I go, they are always with me. I love you both.”
In the NBA, he’s got new additions like Walker Kessler, Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes, as well as his new core with Austin Reaves. Doncic enters the new basketball season determined to guide the Lakers back to contention while fighting to keep his daughters closer through that campaign.