Luka Doncic’s return to Slovenia with his Lakers teammates was supposed to be about family, friendship and giving his new-look team a chance to bond before the season. Instead, an unfounded dating rumor briefly became the story surrounding his trip home.
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Slovenian model Anja Jenko, who appeared on the cover of Playboy in 2014, appeared to put the speculation to rest just hours after it began circulating online.
“Did not have this on my summer bingo card,” Jenko wrote on her Instagram Story, sharing a screenshot of the report and adding a laughing emoji.
The rumor appears to have stemmed from little more than coincidence. Jenko and Doncic were both at the same restaurant in Ljubljana on the same Friday night, but there was no evidence that the two had met or even spoken to each other.
Slovenian outlet Zurnal24.si later reported details that further undercut the speculation. According to the report, Doncic did not meet or speak with Jenko at the venue. Jenko had reportedly left the club earlier with a man and his friends before going elsewhere.
It is not the first time Doncic has found himself at the center of dating speculation based on little more than social-media activity. Earlier this year, reports linked him to actress Madelyn Cline, but TMZ Sports later reported that the two had never met and that the speculation was based on nothing more than the fact that they followed each other on social media.
Away from the rumors, Doncic’s offseason has looked considerably different.
The Lakers star has spent much of his summer in Slovenia with his daughters, Gabriela and Olivia, occasionally sharing glimpses of their time together. His return home also gave him an opportunity to bring his teammates into a part of his life that has remained important to him.
Doncic reportedly covered the cost of a four-day trip to Slovenia for his Lakers teammates, including a private flight reportedly valued at around €250,000. The trip was designed to give the team an opportunity to spend time together away from basketball before training camp begins.
The group went kayaking at Lake Bled, played golf and visited places connected to the beginning of Doncic’s basketball journey.
There was also a more personal stop before the team left Slovenia.
Doncic asked his teammates to visit Ljubljana Maternity Hospital and Pediatric Clinic, where they spent time with children and mothers. It was a quieter moment in a trip that had otherwise been filled with team activities and sightseeing.
That is the context that was largely missing when the dating rumor began circulating.
While a brief encounter or even the appearance of one was enough to fuel speculation online, Doncic’s actual offseason has been centered far more on his family, his home country and the Lakers team he is preparing to lead into another NBA season.
With training camp approaching, that remains the part of his summer that matters most.