“[The passion from the fans] is why I play every year… That’s why I always play, because of pride and I like to represent my country,” said Luka Doncic when describing the reason why he continues playing for his national team. From the 2017 EuroBasket series to the 2024 Summer Olympics, the Los Angeles Lakers star has given back to his country by leading its national team in several tournaments. Now, with still time remaining before the 2025-26 NBA season, the Slovenian is set to do it again by taking charge of the national team for EuroBasket 2025.

Reports reveal that Luka Doncic is “expected to join Slovenia’s national team in early August to begin EuroBasket preparations”. Once that happens, it will be a whirlwind of events taking place. Therefore, without any further ado, let us get to know more details of when these events will take place.

What is Slovenia’s EuroBasket 2025 campaign?

The 2025 Team Slovenia, as highlighted, will be led by Luka Doncic. For this tournament, the team has been drawn into Group D. This means that the Slovenian squad’s primary opponents for the tournament will be Poland, Belgium, France, Iceland, and Israel. The top four teams from these names will advance to the round of 16 in Riga, Latvia.

However, before the squad competes in the main games, set to take place between August 28th and September 4th, it will compete in 6 prep games, from August 8th to 21st. The Slovenian men’s national basketball team has found significant success on the international stage. They have qualified for EuroBasket a total of 14 times, have finished in the top 10 in 9 of their last 11 appearances, and even won the Gold Medal back in 2017. Now, Doncic hopes to repeat the success of the 2017 tournament, having led the team to gold that year alongside Goran Dragic.

The 2024-25 season was a roller coaster for the player. First, he sustained a calf strain during the Christmas Day game, which kept him away from the court for months. Then, he was shockingly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. His presence improved the Lakers’ standing, but it wasn’t enough to go beyond the first round of the playoffs. With the year done, Luka Doncic now has the EuroBasket tournament to look forward to.

The EuroBasket series comes at a time when the Slovenian needs to prove himself. Therefore, we can be assured that he will be making the best of it.

Slovenia’s pre-tournament friendly matches

Team Slovenia’s journey to EuroBasket 2025 will begin on August 8th. On that day, the first Preparation game for the team will be held, as they will face off against Germany. This will be the first of 2 games that will take place in Ljubljana, allowing the Slovenian squad to kick things off with home-court advantage. After that, they will be travelling to Mannheim for their 2nd game against Germany on August 10th.

The Slovenian squad will then receive a brief respite before they face Lithuania at Siauliai on August 15th. The two teams have competed against each other in the EuroBasket series a total of 4 times, with each holding a 2-2 win record. Therefore, this practice game will certainly be a good way to prove who holds the advantage going into the main games.

As soon as the game is over, the team will have to pack their bags and leave. After all, Slovenia’s next practice game would be taking place immediately the day after, on August 16th, in Riga. Their opponent will be Latvia (not Latveria, which is ruled by Dr Doom in the Marvel Comics). After that, Luka Doncic and Co. would be returning home to Ljubljana to face Great Britain on August 19th. The latter team ended 22nd and 24th in its last 2 EuroBasket tournaments, so they shouldn’t prove to be too much of a competition to Slovenia.

Finally, the pre-tournament will end with a matchup between Slovenia and Serbia. With Nikola Jokic confirmed to be a part of Team Serbia, the clash between two of the best European players in the modern NBA will be an interesting one.

However, we know the charm of practice games isn’t as good as the main matchups. After all, the pre-tournament simply offers a chance for players to fine-tune their strategies and assess themselves in front of the competition before the official tournament begins. Having done so, they will have no excuse not to give their best in the main games.

Slovenia’s EuroBasket 2025 group stage schedule

The matchup against France will be the one to watch out for. After all, it will mark a rematch of the memorable clash between the two teams back in EuroBasket 2022, when Luka Doncic dropped a career-high 47 points to lead his team to victory.

Key participants & probable roster in Slovenia’s EuroBasket 2025

According to Basketnews, as of early July 2025, the following are the players set to represent Team Slovenia during the 2025 EuroBasket preparation games:

• Miha Cerkvenik
• Vlatko Cancar
• Ziga Daneu
• Luka Doncic
• Zoran Dragic
• Vit Hrabar
• Gregor Hrovat
• Robert Jurkovic
• Martin Krampelj
• Urban Kroflic
• Edo Muric
• Josh Nebo
• Aleksej Nikolic
• Mark Padjen
• Klemen Prepelic
• Rok Radovic
• Zak Smrekar
• Leon Stergar
• Luka Scuka

After Luka Doncic, Vlatko Čančar is the only other player who is part of both the NBA and the Slovenian National Team. He was also a part of the 2017 EuroBasket roster that won the Gold Medal. Additionally, the 28-year-old has also represented the national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Additionally, Team Slovenia also boasts 5× Slovenian League champion Zoran Dragić. He has played over 406 games spread out between the EuroCup, the EuroLeague, the Liga ACB, FIBA, LBA, etc. During the same time, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Klemen Prepelič, another prominent shooting guard, holds All-Liga ACB First Team, Liga ACB Top Scorer, and Liga ACB champion honors.

Earlier rumors indicated that Daniel Gafford, Luka’s former NBA teammate, would obtain Slovenian citizenship. All so that he could represent the country. As of now, nothing has been confirmed. Even if Luka won’t have Gafford, he still has plenty of support, as his longtime fitness coach, Anze Macek, and physiotherapist Javier Barrio Calvo, will ensure the player remains in top shape by the tournament’s start. On top of that, the Basketball Federation of Slovenia added two key figures to its senior national team setup back in early July 2025. Donnie Nelson, the former General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks, will serve as special advisor. Greg St. Jean, one of the assistant coaches for the Los Angeles Lakers, will also be a part of the coaching staff.

One can watch the 2025 EuroBasket matchups through a subscription with Courtside 1891. Make sure that when you tune in, you keep an eye on Team Slovenia and where they stand. And for those who can’t, don’t worry; we will be covering it religiously!