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We are in the middle of the NBA offseason, but the European World Cup Qualifiers are underway. With games happening, there always is a chance that players may get hurt.
On August 27, Boston Celtics’ Danilo Gallinari suffered a non-contact injury to his left knee. An MRI confirmed he suffered a meniscus tear, and no timetable has been given.
Around the midway point of the third quarter of a Qualifier between Germany and Slovenia, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic was surrounded by teammates as he grabbed at his right ankle. He limped off the court but later returned to the court.
Mavs fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Suffering an injury when it does not involve the Mavs would have been a nightmare to deal with.
Slovenia lost the game 90-71 to Germany, as everyone besides Doncic struggled to score against the Germans. Doncic’s team remains third in their Group with a 5-3 record. Slovenia’s next game on September 1 will be against Lithuania, which will be the first game of EuroBasket 2022.
Doncic History of Ankle Injuries
Throughout Doncic’s career since 2018, the superstar has dealt with a myriad of ankle issues. Almost every year he has played in the league, he has missed games due to some sort of ankle injury.
Steph Curry of the Warriors is another superstar who comes to mind with having to deal with missed time early in his career with his ankle injuries. Through strength training, Curry was able to shed the injury-prone label and has blossomed into one of the best shooters in the NBA.
For Doncic, this will be something to monitor as he progresses further in his career. The sky is the limit to what he can accomplish, but he must focus on maintaining his body to optimize his performance.
Mark Cuban on International Play
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a history of comments relating to international players competing for their home countries. Obviously as a businessman and how he has to look out for the best interests of his team, he rather his players take their summers easy and focus on playing only for his team.
Back in 2012, Cuban publicly denounced how the NBA allowed their players to risk playing in the Olympics.
“It’s just the epitome of stupidity that we would allow ourselves to be used so other corporations” –as Cuban calls the Olympics –“can make tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars,” Cuban tells ESPN. “There’s some guys sitting at the Olympic headquarters going, ‘Those dumb-a**es, we’re taking all their best guys for nothing.'”
Additionally, he talked about how he had continuously bought it up to then-commissioner David Stern to negotiate about it during the collective bargaining agreement, but that has never been seriously discussed.
Nowadays, Cuban seems more reserved about this topic. In an August 19 interview with Sports Illustrated Dalton Trigg, when asked if he was worried that Doncic would be fatigued going into training camp, the owner only had a three-word answer.
“He is 23.”
Hopefully, Doncic can help Slovenia defend their EuroBasket title injury free. It would not be surprising if he comes into training camp with more time off than he normally does.
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