"Will Luka Doncic's Participation in Olympic Qualifying Boost Slovenia's Chances?"

Luka Doncic is considering participating in the upcoming Paris Olympics, as long as his knees hold up during the games and he is able to assist Slovenia in qualifying. Following a successful season with the Dallas Mavericks that led them to the NBA Finals, Doncic is among the 16 players listed by Slovenia as potential candidates for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece, commencing on July 2. If Slovenia emerges victorious in the tournament, which includes teams such as Greece, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Croatia, and Egypt, they will secure a spot in the 12-team men's field at the Paris Games scheduled to begin in late July.

“If it’s good, I’m going to go play,” Doncic said Wednesday at NBA Finals media day in Boston, saying the knee issue that he’s been playing through in the playoffs would be the only foreseeable obstacle.

Luka Doncic has showcased his skills on various international platforms, such as the Tokyo Olympics which were rescheduled to 2021 due to the pandemic. He has participated in EuroBasket twice and also represented Slovenia in the previous year's World Cup, with the tournament concluding shortly before the Mavericks commenced their training camp for the current season. On Wednesday, Doncic was informed that he could potentially play between 90 and 95 games this season, depending on the duration of the NBA Finals. However, Doncic perceives this figure to be even greater.

“More games,” Doncic said. “You forgot World Cup before the season.”

If the series between Dallas and the Boston Celtics extends to a full seven games, Doncic will still be actively playing on June 23rd. Following this, Slovenia has an exhibition match against Brazil on June 28th as a warm-up for the tournament in Greece. Therefore, Doncic may transition from playing for his club to representing his country within the same week.

In his Olympic debut game in 2021, Doncic impressively scored 48 points, which tied for the second-highest score in any men's Olympic game. However, he fell just seven points short of matching the record of 55 points set by Brazil's Oscar Schmidt in 1988.

Out of the 12-team Olympic men's field, eight teams have already secured their berths. France qualified as the host nation, while the remaining seven teams, including the four-time defending gold medalist U.S., Germany, Canada, Japan, South Sudan, Serbia, and Australia, earned their spots based on their performances at last summer's World Cup in the Philippines.

Slovenia is among the 24 teams competing from July 2nd to 7th for the remaining four spots. These teams will participate in four qualifying tournaments, each consisting of six nations. The winners from these tournaments will secure their places in the Paris Olympics.