Dončić has recently impressed basketball fans; the young Slovenian hope is a drawing attention as a member of the Madrid Real basketball team at the age of just 17. In the opening game of the EuroLeague, Dončić was the second-best scorer with 11 points in a game in which Real defeated Olympiakos. Previously, he had drawn attention to himself with a number of attractive moves in an exhibition game between Real and Oklahoma. Videos of Dončić's move have made rounds on YouTube and Luka already has many admirers among young athletes. The story of a very young player making his way into the company of successful basketball players has encouraged many teenagers who now want to follow in his footsteps.

Because Dončić cannot make media appearances to due Spanish rules about underage players, his story is an even greater mystery – particularly because Luka hasn't played for the Slovenian national team in recent years. “There was so much said about this team. I can assure you that his decision to play for the national team was never in doubt – that's something he has confirmed himself. Even though he is playing in a major team, he's still very young and must fight for a place in his team, which means that training with the team is very important to him. In addition, he still has a very young body and if he wants to endure all the physical hardships that still await him in his career, he needs plenty of rest. This is why he has decided against plating for the national team so far – but he will play eventually, there’s no doubt about that,” says Mirjam Poterbin.

The Spanish national team is keeping its door open for Dončić
Commenting on Twitter, Luka stated that he is only interested in playing for Slovenia. He made the comments after the Spanish Association announced that he was welcome to play for the Spanish team, but as his mother says, there was no pressure: “This year, the Spanish association, headed by Mr. Garbajosa, announced that they are keeping the door open for Luka, that he can join them at any time if that's what he wishes. They know about and understand his decision to play for Slovenia. There was no pressure, no firm invitation. They just mentioned the open door. But there was nothing until this year.”

The Slovenian team had already expected Luke's help this year, but the talented player ultimately decided to give this year's action a miss. According to his mother, Dončić decided to stay with Real, where he is trying to fight his way to the best possible spot in the team. Spain played at the Olympics, and its players rejoined Real by the end of August. Slovenia played in the qualifiers in early September, which would have made Luka the only Real player to miss the beginning of the team's training