Luka Dončić: Lakers star motivated with Slovenia ahead of EuroBasket 2025

Slovenian national team coach Aleksander Sekulić stated that star player Luka Dončić is still working towards peak fitness for the upcoming European Basketball Championship.

While acknowledging Dončić isn't yet in top form, Sekulić expressed confidence that the Los Angeles Lakers guard's mindset will be crucial to the team's performance.

Slovenia reached the quarterfinals of the previous EuroBasket in 2022, losing to Poland.

This comes after Luka was traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers, a move that shocked the NBA world in 2025.

Speaking to Meridian Sport, Sekulić said, "Luka has changed a lot in the way he works, but whether he's in good shape or not, we'll see.

"He can't be in peak form right now. He's not the real Dončić yet, and we all know what that means on the court.

"The most important thing is that Luka is highly motivated and that he's here to achieve something special with the national team."

Doncic recently signed a contract extension with the Lakers that has a player option in 2028.

Sekulić admitted that it's natural for attention to be focused on the world's best players.

He added, "It's true. It's always like that - the same with Serbia and Nikola Jokić.

For me, Dončić and Jokić are the best in the world. We all have high ambitions, especially the fans and the people around the national team.

"We've come to give our all and play above our expectations, which is much easier when you have a player like Luka, who makes everyone around him better.

"It's been like that in the past, and I expect the same now. I hope the players around Dončić will take advantage of the opportunity."

He added, "For me, the number one favorite is definitely Serbia. In terms of their roster - impressive, incredible.

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"They have a coach who's been there for years, very experienced, excellent, with results to prove it. Serbia has everything it needs for the gold.

"That's why they're number one. But favorites don't always win. Other teams are also good, maybe not like Serbia on paper, but..."

"The French are always there, and we just felt the strength of the Germans in our preparation games.

"The Greeks, the Spaniards always look dangerous. Italy's team is also very, very strong, Latvia has an exceptional generation with Porziņģis, and Lithuania's squad is always a threat."