Why is Luka Doncic not playing in 2024 Paris Olympics? Closer look at Slovenia star's absence
Luka Doncic will be one of the biggest omissions from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Doncic and his Slovenian national team will be missing the Olympic games this year after making it to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Doncic failed to carry Slovenia to the Olympics as they lost to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament last month, ending their Olympic hopes this year. The Greeks took down the Slovenians in a lopsided 96-68 result.
Doncic put up 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, and five assists, but was bad at taking care of the ball, posting 10 turnovers in 34 minutes in the loss.
It was a rough couple of months for Doncic, as he also fell short in the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks, bowing out in five games against eventual NBA champions the Boston Celtics.
With a strained body, Doncic struggled to carry the team, which was considered to be one of the weakest Slovenian squads in years as he missed the services of key Slovenian supporting players.
Luka Doncic played his first Olympic tournament at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, finishing fourth and missing out on the podium. At just 22 years old, Doncic was more than impressive in his Olympic debut, scoring 48 points in his first game in the Olympics, which was the third-highest-scoring game in the Summer Games’ history.
Doncic also tallied the third triple-double in Olympic history after notching 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 18 assists in their loss against France.
It was a historic performance not just for Doncic but also for Slovenia, as it was the first-ever Olympic appearance of the nation.
Luka Doncic received pain-killing injections during the NBA Finals
Luka Doncic was hobbled by injuries throughout his first NBA finals run of his career. According to ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Tim MacMahon, Doncic took some pain-killing injections during the championship series to endure the injuries he sustained.
The pain-killer was said to numb his thoracic contusion, allowing him to persist through the pain in the series versus the Celtics.
When asked about the contusion injury, Doncic kept himself mum about his physical status, downplaying the injury and keeping himself focused no matter what.
"I feel good," he said. "I don't want to get in any more details. But I feel good."
Dallas finished as the fifth seed in the Western Conference after the regular season before embarking on a deep playoff run wherein they never held homecourt advantage in any series.
The Mavericks played 22 games in the 2024 NBA playoffs, winning 13 games and losing nine.