Luka Doncic will not suit up for Slovenia in this summer’s FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying games, choosing to remain in the United States while he seeks joint custody of his two daughters.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard announced the decision on Instagram shortly after the team’s season ended with a sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder. “I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life,” he wrote, explaining that travel for national-team duty would hinder efforts to see his children, Gabriela, 3, and Olivia, born last December.
Doncic, 26, has been involved in a custody dispute with former fiancée Anamaria Goltes. Court records show a May 14 hearing was postponed to later this summer at the request of his attorney, Laura Wasser, allowing proceedings to continue after the NBA playoffs.
Speaking to reporters following Game 4, the four-time All-Star reiterated that spending time with his daughters is his top offseason priority. “First of all, I want to spend time with my daughters. That’s probably the only thing that’s on my mind right now,” he said, adding that he also intends to rehab a strained left hamstring that sidelined him in the postseason.
Longtime pillar of the Slovenian squad
Doncic made his senior national-team debut at age 16 and led Slovenia to a EuroBasket championship a year later. He has appeared in every major international competition since, becoming the face of Slovenian basketball.
Slovenia is currently navigating the qualification process that will fill 31 of the 32 berths for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup; host nation Qatar has an automatic spot. Games are staged across six windows over 15 months, running from November 2024 through March 2027.
Doncic expressed disappointment about missing the upcoming window but emphasized that “right now, my daughters and my responsibilities as a father are my priority.”
Source: LakersNation.com
