
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic recently had the best season of his career, in which he was denied MVP and guided the Mavs to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011, and he has the ability to improve even further this summer. Last summer, we saw Doncic take his conditioning more seriously than ever before and make big advances as a shooter off the catch, and we might see a similar developmental path for Doncic this summer if he works as hard as he did last year.
Doncic’s 2024 NBA Playoffs were also a masterclass, despite the fact that he dealt with numerous ailments. Doncic was forced to receive pain-killing injections for his thoracic contusion by the end of the playoffs, and he battled a knee strain and ankle stiffness throughout. Dallas Mavericks ‘expect’ Luka Doncic to play in the Olympics Doncic’s major objective this summer needs to be getting fit and ready to roll for next season given that this year’s offseason is significantly shorter for Dallas owing to their deep playoff run, but that may be more difficult considering a decision that Doncic will most likely make.
In a news conference on Friday, Mavs GM said he expected Doncic will play for Slovenia at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. “That’s probably one of his biggest joys,” Harrison said of Doncic’s appearance for Slovenia. “As long as he can walk, he will most likely play for them. “That is my expectation.” Doncic’s decision to compete for Slovenia should come as no surprise, since he stated earlier this month that he would play if his knee was fine, but his participation in the Olympics may be more perilous than many know.
Doncic is one to always battle through injuries, but playing in the Olympics after playing through multiple injuries for nearly two months is a sticky situation. If he happens to reinjure his knee or suffer a different naggy injury, the Mavs would be in a huge predicament going into next season. Doncic is the heart and soul of this Mavs team, and without him, it would be extremely tough to contend in a stacked Western Conference. Playing for Slovenia is obviously a priority for Doncic, and last summer we saw a scary situation with Doncic playing for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup. Doncic was battling a thigh injury during the second half of the NBA 2022-23 season, and these problems persisted into the FIBA World Cup.