Slovenia's basketball superstar secures sixth All-NBA First Team nod
Slovenian NBA superstar Luka Dončić has been named to the 2025-26 All-NBA First Team for the sixth time in his career and the first in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform.
A hamstring injury ended Dončić's hopes for appearing in the playoffs this season, but prior to that the Slovenian was lighting the league on fire, leading the NBA in scoring for the second time in the past three seasons.
The 27-year-old averaged 33.5 points across 64 regular-season games, the fifth-highest single-season scoring average in Lakers history, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
He also averaged 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals, and became only the second player in NBA history to have three seasons averaging at least 30.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists. The only other player in league history to have achieved that was the American Oscar Robertson, also known as "the Big O", who played in the 1960s and 1970s.
Impressive achievement of six First Team honours by age 27
Dončić has now become only the fifth player in NBA history to receive the All-NBA First Team honours six times by the age of 27 or younger, joining his teammate LeBron James and three other NBA legends.
Other players named to the All-NBA First Team this year include Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league announced on 24 May.
When it comes to NBA guards alone this season, Dončić ranked second in rebounds per game and third overall in assists.
The Slovenian is often criticised for his perceived lack of defensive effort, but some analysts have pointed out that such criticism has turned into ill-founded repeating of the same lore.
A look at this season's NBA statistics shows that Dončić finished tied for sixth in steals per outing, while his charges drawn, the number of times a player legally draws an offensive foul in a display of defensive hustle, tied for seventh-most.
In his first full season with the Lakers, the Slovenian was knocking down triples, setting a new franchise record with 254 made 3-pointers. He scored in double digits in every appearance this season, and had 34 double-doubles and eight triple-doubles, the fourth-most in the NBA. He recorded 44 games with at least 30 points, the most by a Lakers player over the past 20 seasons.
His individual accomplishments, including being named an All-Star starter having received the most fan votes, regardless of conference, may soon turn into a championship ring if the Lakers succeed in building around their franchise player.
Dončić is expected to return healthy in the next season. He has been sidelined since early April, but he is now looking at a summer of complete physical recovery and conditioning.
Chance of seeing him in national team jersey this summer after all
He has announced he will not be joining the national team in their World Cup qualifiers campaign this summer, citing an ongoing custody battle and the desire to spend as much time with his kids as possible.
He stressed his commitment to the national team but added that his daughters were his priority, a sentiment the Slovenian Basketball Federation (KZS) and fans understood.
But there may be a chance he will appear in the national team jersey sooner rather than later after all, as his father Saša Dončić, KZS director of sport, recently told the press his son might play for Slovenia in the second qualifying window in late August.
"The decision is entirely up to him; the franchise supports him and isn't imposing any restrictions or conditions on him."
Saša Dončić also cleared up some confusion regarding his son's Lakers teammate, centre Jaxson Hayes, saying the American did not yet have a Slovenian passport, but he was finalising the details to obtain citizenship.
"Hayes is a young player who can play for Slovenia for at least five more years, so we don't want to rush him into the national team. I think Luka should bring him into the team, so he'll join when Luka is ready," he said.
Photo: Instagram/lukadoncic
