Luka Doncic is doing something special
If you haven't been paying attention to men's basketball at the Olympics, you might be missing an amazing story.
Ignore the hubbub around NBA free agency for a second, because there’s something really interesting brewing in men’s basketball in Tokyo that deserves your attention.
Team USA is, as always, a heavy favorite to come away with the gold medal in men’s basketball despite starting out flat in the early games.
The Americans field a team made up entirely of NBA players, which means they are picking from the deepest and richest talent pool in the world. When they have been challenged in the past, it is usually by a team with several current or future NBA players (Manu Ginobili winning gold for Argentina in 2004 comes to mind).
Slovenia, a country that has never won a medal in basketball in Olympics history, has Luka Doncic.
The 22-year old has been playing for his home country’s team for a couple of years, and Slovenia has yet to lose a game in that time. Seriously. They are now 17-0 in games where Luka plays, after taking care of Spain and Germany in the last few days.
The Slovenia men’s basketball roster includes exactly 1 NBA player. His name is Luka Doncic. And they are two wins away from a gold medal.
The only thing that is even close to this is Toni Kukoc, who had not yet joined the NBA, leading the Yugoslavia basketball team to a great amount of success before meeting USA’s “Dream Team” that tortured him.
Next up: France
Team Slovenia needs to top France on Thursday to make it to the final game and guarantee a medal.
France’s team is led by a slew of NBA players, just like every country but Slovenia at this point.
Annual Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert is the standout, but they also have Nic Batum, Evan Fournier, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntilikina and Thomas Heurtel. With that level of defense and shooting, it’s no wonder they have made it this far. And they’ll definitely have plenty to throw at Luka.
But every team has thrown everything at Luka. That’s kind of the point. He’s the only player of elite skill and talent on his team, and yet Slovenia keeps winning. And they’re winning because Luka is completely unselfish.
Sure, Doncic is leading the Slovenia team in points, but he’s taking what the defense is giving him. He’s scoring when he sees an opportunity and is otherwise using the gravity his presence creates to get open shots for his teammates, who are knocking them down (something the Dallas Mavericks struggled with last season).
Slovenia. USA. Collision course.
If Slovenia can get by France, they’ll guarantee themselves at least a silver medal and likely face team USA in the final game.
But first, USA has to get by a very good Australia team that boasts six current NBA players and has been an international terror for about a decade now. I wouldn’t be completely shocked if Australia could find a way to get by USA, but just based on the mismatch in talent, it shouldn’t happen.
If it happens, a Slovenia vs. USA game for the gold medal would happen on Saturday. Just by getting there, Luka would be proving that he’s the best basketball player in the world. I can’t think of another player that could drag this group of ragtag players to a gold medal game. However, he will undoubtedly feel disappointed if he doesn’t conquer team USA and walk away with a gold medal and his undefeated streak in tact.
If he pulls it off, it would rank up there as one of the most impressive feats in the history of men’s basketball at the Olympics, which means you should be paying attention to his next two games.
Can he pitch?