Luka Doncic dazzles with 48 points for Slovenia in Olympic debut

BasketballNews.com Staff
July 26 2021

After leading his home country of Slovenia to a no-doubt 118-100 victory, the world will not soon forget Luka Doncic’s Olympic debut against Argentina.

In his first game as an Olympian, Doncic put himself in second place in the Games' history all-time with 48 points. Only Oscar Schmidt (55 points, 1998) has scored more on the stage.

Luka went 18-for-29 from the field on the night, knocking down 6-of-14 triples.

The Dallas Mavericks superstar exploded for 31 of those 48 points in the first half, dazzling with his step back threes and tactical drives. In addition, he made a number of ridiculous passes (5 assists), crashed the boards (11 rebounds) and had active hands on defense (3 blocks). 

Known for having a bit of a hot temper, Doncic also picked up a technical foul when he didn’t get a foul call inside; it was largely irrelevant, however, as the Slovenians had as much as a 30-point cushion due to Luka’s incredible first half. They never looked back.

Instead of doing it in the heart of Texas, Doncic put on a show overseas in Saitama, Japan, and led Slovenia to its first win on the Olympic stage.