Unimpressed by Luka Doncic’s Tripe-Double, 47YO HC Reveals True Expectations From Lakers Star

August began with Luka Doncic securing his three-year contract extension worth $165 million. The deal will keep him with the Lakers for the foreseeable future. But August ended with the 5x All-Star creating history, not for the franchise but for his country. That too at the time, when Slovenia was down 0-2 in the EuroBasket, their superstar led them to their first victory, which was a headline-worthy statline that even the opposition couldn’t diminish, but it’s not the way you think.

Back in 2022, the team topped the group stage with just 1 loss to their name. This time, the road wasn’t easy after back-to-back losses to Poland and France. But ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man‘, and the Slovenian superstar posted a monster triple-double: 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in just 30 minutes of action. The performance against Belgium also helped him enter the record books by being only the fifth player in EuroBasket history to record a triple-double. Their head coach even stated he would prefer a Luka who only scored 50. “For me, I’d prefer he score 50.”

Yes, this is not out of context. Belgium coach Dario Gjergja said, “To be honest, I’d prefer he score 50 but the others don’t execute … because he’s capable to make everybody better, never mind about quality around him. And this is why he’s a superstar.” He finished 9-for-23 from the field, including 2-for-11 from deep. But made up with his rebounding and assists to cause a problem for Belgium. Doncic didn’t start hot as he missed his first four shots; in fact, his shooting was not efficient at all.

Despite this, he ended up having a historic night. Their coach stated the sentiment better than anybody else. “That’s what Luka does.” Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said. “The thing is that I saw he made a triple-double, but what impresses me is the way he approached this game, knowing that we are a better team with better individuals. Even though he never underestimated anyone and he was locked in from the first to last minute. That only just shows the greatness, not only the stats, but his mindset.”

Slovenia, riding Luka’s brilliance, dismantled Belgium 86-69, dominating 40-18 in the paint and out-rebounding their opponents 43-31. Key help came from Alen Omic (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Edo Muric (10 points)Key help came from Alen Omic (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Edo Muric (10 points). Even the bench edged out with a 28-15 difference. But let’s remember, the true difference maker in all this was Luka Doncic. As stated before, it was historic, with Toni Kukoc (1995), Andrei Kirilenko (2007), Vassilis Spanoulis (2007), and Nikola Vucevic (2017) being the only players to achieve the feat.

Luka Doncic continues to leave behind a trail of stats

What can’t Luka do? Setting records is not new for the former Mavs guard. In 2018, he became the youngest ever EuroLeague MVP and a EuroLeague champion at age 19. That form continued for the Dallas side, where he was the 6th highest scorer for the franchise, overall #5 in assists, and led the Mavs in points per game metric 28.6, that too in just 442 games over the 7-year spell.

Now, 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. All it took him was just 19 games in total. Apart from this, for his national team, Luka Doncic leads Slovenia in points, assists, and touches, logging mid-30s minutes while carrying the full creation load. A lean Luka Doncic would be a trouble for the NBA, but in EuroBasket, we already saw two different personas. One “scoring Luka” (39 points vs. France) who isn’t afraid to take over.

And the other “playmaking Luka” (26-10-11 vs. Belgium), who can involve all his teammates and inspire them to victory. Winning over Belgium in the group stage is only the second matchup, as their previous was a victory against Great Britain in a preparation game. Up next, Iceland awaits, as they are yet to open their account after three straight losses.