Entering EuroBasket 2022 as one of the consensus tournament favorites, it’s a shock to sit here and write about how Goran Dragic, Luka Doncic, and Slovenia have now been eliminated before even reaching the semi-final stage. Considering EuroBasket had been the perfect testing ground to see just how effective Dragic can be at a high level of competition, this news comes as a massive disappointment for Chicago Bulls fans back home.
After limping into a third-place finish in Group D — the weakest of the four groups, in my opinion — no one expected much from Poland moving forward. A strong performance against Ukraine in the round of 16 had Poland pulling off an impressive upset, but no one could have predicted that they’d go on to defeat Slovenia 90-87 in the quarter-finals.
Despite the loss, Dragic played fairly well, registering 17 points and converting on 7-of-15 attempts from the field. He also chipped in 5 rebounds and 4 assists but committed an egregious 5 turnovers.
Considering how close the game was, things would have gone according to plan if Doncic had been on his game, but it was not to be. Luka added 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists on a terrible 5-for-15 shooting from the field while turning the ball over 6 times before fouling out late in the fourth quarter in frustration.
Chicago Bulls guard Goran Dragic has his spectacular EuroBasket run finally reach its conclusion after a shocking upset from Poland.
Poland now faces off against France in the semi-finals with a very strong chance to win their first EuroBasket medal in over 50 years.
Although Slovenia entered as the reigning champions, a new king will be crowned during the championship game on Sunday. Dragic will also have to forfeit his title as EuroBasket MVP. If Slovenia had managed to keep winning, it’s very likely Luka would have won the award and kept the mantle in his home country for another few years.
Instead, Doncic will now have to join fellow NBA superstars Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo in watching the rest of the tournament from their couch. Due to this trio’s star power, Slovenia, Serbia, and Greece were all seen as tournament frontrunners, but not a single one managed to even qualify for the semi-finals.
Only Rudy Gobert remains standing as a premiere representative of the NBA, leading France into their next matchup against the aforementioned Poland. Even Gobert barely avoided elimination with a 1-point victory against Turkey in the opening round, proving just how cutthroat this tournament can be.
At the very least, Dragic has proven he’s ready for a big role with the Chicago Bulls next season. Just how big of a role, you ask? Well, that largely depends on when Lonzo Ball makes his return to the court. Until then, we’ll just have to trust Dragic to save Chicago from sharing the same fate as his home country Slovenia.