Luka Doncic Makes FIBA World Cup History, Joins Elite Scoring List

Slovenia didn’t finish as high as they wanted to in the FIBA World Cup, but they still have a lot to be proud of, and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic joined a historic list in the process.

Although Slovenia finished seventh in the FIBA World Cup instead of being able to compete for a medal, they have a lot to be proud of, especially when considering they were without their second-best player in Vlatko Cancar due to a devastating knee injury before the tournament got underway.

Luka Doncic, as he’s done so often for the Dallas Mavericks over the last five years, put Slovenia on his back and put up historic numbers in the process. In eight World Cup games, Slovenia finished 5-3, and Doncic averaged 27 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals.

Doncic’s 216 total points put him in elite FIBA World Cup company, as only three other players have ever eclipsed that 200-point mark in eight games or less: Shin Dong-pa (7 games, 1970), Nikos Galis (6 games, 1986), Drazen Petrovic (8 games, 1986).

FIBA

Although some Mavs fans wish Doncic would take off from playing international basketball in order to be fully rested when the new NBA season begins, playing for the Slovenian national team simply means too much to him for that to happen, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

“As I have said many times, whenever I can, I will play for the national team,” Doncic said after a tough loss to Lithuania on Thursday. “There is no question for me.”

If the top stars from the United States had that same kind of pride and desire to play for their national team as well, perhaps they’d be preparing to take home a gold medal right now instead of playing Canada for third place.