Luka Doncic Slovenia National Team Co-Star Suffers Torn ACL

DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic remains motivated, but faces a challenging outlook when attempting to lead the Slovenian national team to success in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. It was only made more challenging following the latest development.

"The goal is always same — to win the championship," Doncic said before exhibition matches began. "Of course, this is a wish, but what actually happens in the competition is another matter. I am very motivated myself, and I was additionally motivated by the failure of my team in the NBA and the failure of Slovenia last year.

"But you always look forward," Doncic said. "We don't care what happened last year."

During Slovenia's exhibition match with Greece on Friday, Doncic's only active NBA teammate, Vlatko Cancar, suffered a torn ACL after landing awkwardly from a dunk with 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. There is currently no timetable for surgery. Slovenia was already thin in the frontcourt before Cancar suffered his injury.

🇸🇮 Vlatko Cancar was carried out of the court by medical staff after injuring his left knee 😕 pic.twitter.com/VMyeV7Jhat
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) August 4, 2023

Cancar played for 21 minutes in the exhibition match, finishing with four points, two rebounds, one assist. The 6-8 forward was facing a prime opportunity to showcase his game ahead of an NBA season with the Denver Nuggets that likely would have called for an expanded role following Bruce Brown's departure.

Doncic had his performance end early after appearing to be shaken up after banging knees late in the second quarter. He sat out for the remainder of the half and did not return to action. Some reporting suggested it was already intended that he'd only play during the first half, while other information suggested it was simply an injury.

Slovenia returns to action on Aug. 8 when they take on Montenegro in Ljubljana in what is the final game the team plays on their home soil. The schedule then shifts to Malaga, Spain, for matchups against Spain and Team USA, before facing off against Japan in Tokyo, then competing against Group F in Okinawa.

Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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