Luka Dončić and Slovenia’s run through the EuroBasket championship ended Wednesday after the tournament’s remaining favorite, Germany, pulled away late for a 99-91 win in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
Dončić scored 39 points in the loss while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner scored 23 points to lead Germany, while Sacramento Kings point guard Dennis Schröder had 20. Germany will now face Finland in one of Friday’s semifinals after the Fins’ 93-79 win over Georgia earlier Wednesday. Turkey and Greece will square off in the other semifinal.
Doncic’s incredible #EuroBasket run comes to an end but he had another scoring spree against Germany.
📊 39 PTS | 10 REB | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/tVoTQxlv32
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 10, 2025
Slovenia, with one of its weakest rosters on paper in years around Dončić, controlled Wednesday’s game for most of the 40 minutes despite Dončić picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. The Slovenians were in excellent position for the upset heading into the fourth quarter before Magic forward Tristan da Silva hit a massive shot from beyond midcourt right at the third-quarter buzzer. It was the biggest shot in a 9-0 run that put Germany ahead for the first time since early in the opening frame.
A Dončić sidestep 3 put Slovenia up one with just over four minutes to play, but Schröder quickly responded with a 3 of his own, and Germany finished the game on a 14-5 run.
After transforming his body this summer following the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff elimination to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dončić’s full-on test drive in EuroBasket was an individual success for the Lakers superstar. After opening group play with losses to Poland and France, Slovenia won four straight games before pushing Germany closer to defeat than any other team this summer. Competing against teams with multiple NBA players, Dončić’s Slovenian team had no other NBAers and just one other player on a EuroLeague roster.
Dončić averaged 34.7 points for the tournament to go with 8.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in the 40-minute games. Showcasing more quickness all over the floor, he also had 19 steals in the seven games, the most in the competition thus far.
He’ll now have an abbreviated rest before returning to Los Angeles, where the Lakers will begin training camp at the end of the month.
(Top photo: Christina Pahnke – sampics / Corbis via Getty Images)