FIBA’s EuroBasket got underway on September 1st and will continue through September 18th when the final is set to commence. This is a chance for the game of basketball to continue expanding as NBA stars are littered throughout the rosters for this tournament.
While it is great to see players such as Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks representing their countries, their NBA teams probably aren’t thrilled about them taking part. Both the Mavericks and Bucks played into the 2022 postseason, meaning their stars basically didn’t have a break this summer.
Winning the NBA Finals in 2021 cut the Bucks’ offseason a little short already, and it was certainly worthwhile, rest for their superstar has been far and few between. He will have essentially been playing competitive basketball from October 2021 through however long the Bucks play into the postseason, should they make it, in 2023.
The same goes for Doncic and the Mavericks, who actually advanced a round further than the Bucks in the 2022 NBA postseason. As one NBA scout revealed when talking to NBA Analysis Network, there are some major concerns for stars such as Antetokounmpo and Doncic taking part in EuroBasket 2022.
“It’s great to play for your country. I’m sure that’s a great feeling. But I can’t help but notice how banged up some of these guys like Luka and Giannis are looking at times. The workload they are putting themselves under by playing in EuroBasket is immense. It’ll be interesting to see how these guys hold up during the season. Their teams depend on them a lot.”
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For Slovenia, Goran Dragic and Vlatko Cancar are the only other active NBA players on the team. Dragic is well beyond his prime and Cancar is a deep reserve. To compete with teams that have more NBA talent than them, Doncic carries a very heavy workload.
The same can be said for Giannis. Tyler Dorsey, who signed a two-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks, is the only other active NBA player on the roster with Thanasis Antetokoummpo. Thanasis is a deep reserve for the Bucks currently.
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Without other high-end NBA talent to rely on, those players are doing a lot for their countries. There are other great players on the roster, as you have to be to represent your country. But they do not possess the depth that some of the other countries they are facing, which leads to them leaning on their NBA stars more than the NBA teams probably like them to be used in what should be their time to recuperate and recover.
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