Luka Doncic Makes Major Personal Announcement Right After Lakers Season Ends

The Los Angeles Lakers are done for the 2026 playoffs after getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. It was a bitter exit, made worse by the fact that their best player never suited up for a single game.

Luka Doncic suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2 and missed the entire postseason. He watched Game 4 from the bench in a black sweatsuit as the Thunder closed it out 115-110. Right after the final buzzer, he posted a statement on Instagram, and it had nothing to do with basketball.

Doncic announced he will not play for the Slovenian national team in FIBA World Cup qualifying this summer. The reason comes down to his two daughters, Gabriela and Olivia, whom he shares with former fiancee Anamaria Goltes. A custody battle has been ongoing since the two separated in December, and he says seeing his daughters has been extremely difficult since.

He explained it in his own words: "I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life. As I continue working toward joint custody of my daughters, I have been forced to make a difficult decision between traveling and playing for the Slovenian national team and being with my daughters this summer. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely difficult for me to see them over the past eight months."

Luka Doncic Puts Family First After Tough Lakers Season

He also addressed Slovenia directly: "I have given everything to representing Slovenia and I am disappointed that I will not be able to play for my country this summer. But right now, my daughters and my responsibilities as a father are my priority."

While recovering from the hamstring injury, Doncic traveled to Spain for treatment. During that trip, he stopped in his hometown of Ljubljana to see Gabriela and Olivia. It was a brief visit, but given how little access he has had to them over the past several months, it clearly meant everything.

Doncic has worn the Slovenian jersey since he was 17. He helped the country win its first EuroBasket title and has been its best player for nearly a decade. Stepping away from that is not something he did lightly.

But the situation with his daughters has been going on for months. He has been fighting for joint custody while also managing a separate legal filing in California. Through all of it, he still put up one of the best individual seasons any Laker has had in years.

The playoffs did not go the way anyone hoped, and now his focus shifts entirely to his family. For Doncic, this summer is about being a father first.

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