PIRAEUS (Greece) - Here's a quick update for you. In the history of the modern day FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, dating back to 2008, there have been four triple-doubles. The entire list is below:
3 - Luka Doncic. 2 - Nobody yet. 1 - Everybody else.
Against New Zealand, Doncic finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, making it back-to-back triple-doubles at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Greece 2024, and his third straight in this competition, dating back to 2021.
Slovenia found themselves needing a win of 10 or more points to advance, and his three-pointer to end the third quarter at +20 sealed that deal.
But then, they were off to chase the 29-point margin which would've given them the top spot in their group, and a better draw in the Semi-Finals. They got all they way up to 104-78 with one last chance to get to +29, but Doncic's last second shot from the corner went in and out, keeping Slovenia in the second spot.
"It's unbelievable to have a player like that, he gives us extra confidence, it's so much easier to play with him."
With Doncic offering the usual answer about not caring that much about stats, we asked his teammate Gregor Hrovat if the rest of the Slovenian guys feel any kind of pressure to follow Luka's lead.
"I mean, he missed the last shot," Hrovat said jokingly, provoking genuine laughter from everybody in the area.
"It's unbelievable to have a player like that, he gives us extra confidence, it's so much easier to play with him. We know that a lot of times the other teams try to guard him with one, two, three players, so there's more extra room for the others, but it's still on us to execute."
Doncic is still struggling with his shot, going 9-of-25 from the field against New Zealand, after an 8-of-23 performance against Croatia.
He did score 26 points against Slovenia's neighbors, with 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and he has turned the ball over just five times across those two games.
Back in 2021, the Dallas Maverick star sent Slovenia to their first ever Olympics thanks to a 31-point, 13-assists, 11-rebound output against Lithuania in the Final of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Kaunas.
Those three are not his only triple-doubles for Slovenia. In 2021, he had 16 points, 18 assists and 10 rebounds against France in the Semi-Finals of the Olympics, making it only the third triple-double in history of the event.
He is on a roll now, and he will need to on the same level in the Semi-Finals, too, as Slovenia will most probably face the hosts Greece in the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus on Saturday.
FIBA