The name Luka Dončić is nearly synonymous with triple-doubles. Only seven seasons into his NBA journey, he holds a distinguished seventh position on the league’s all-time record, showcasing 82 such performances. However, until the recent Sunday, he had never accomplished this feat at EuroBasket while representing Slovenia. In fact, remarkably few athletes have achieved this milestone in the prestigious European competition.
Achieving 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists during Slovenia’s 86-69 victory against Belgium on Sunday, Dončić officially became only the fourth player in the history of EuroBasket to achieve a triple-double. This excludes Croatia’s Stojko Vranković, who recorded a triple-double with blocks in 1993, before it was officially documented as a statistic.
Regardless, Dončić now shares this accomplishment with an exclusive group, including Toni Kukoč, the former Chicago Bulls star, who secured three championships playing alongside Michael Jordan.
Triple-doubles at EuroBasket
*Unofficial
|
Luka Dončić |
Slovenia |
2025 |
|
Mateusz Ponitka |
Poland |
2022 |
|
Rareș Mandache |
Romania |
2017 |
|
Toni Kukoč |
Croatia |
1995 |
|
Stojko Vranković* |
Croatia |
1993 |
Even though Dončić attained a triple-double, his performance on Sunday was not flawless. He managed to convert only 9 of his 23 field goal attempts and struggled particularly from beyond the 3-point arc, making just 2 of his 11 attempts. Nevertheless, he managed to score a game-leading 26 points while consistently setting up his teammates. In total, he either scored or assisted on 51 of Slovenia’s 86 points within just 30 minutes of play.
Across three games, Dončić now holds averages of 33 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 9.7 assists. He currently leads the tournament in both scoring and assists, also ranking 13th in rebounding. Concerns regarding his fitness following an injury scare during a warm-up match against Latvia earlier this month have quickly been dispelled.
Beyond his triple-double achievement, Dončić also became the youngest player (26 years and 184 days old) to achieve 400 EuroBasket points since Tony Parker in 2007 (25 years, 122 days). In addition, he became the fastest player in the 21st century of EuroBasket history (19 games) to achieve 400 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists.
Following a challenging beginning to their EuroBasket journey, which included defeats against Poland and France, Slovenia’s victory over Belgium has propelled them to third place in Group D provisionally. The top four teams from each group (with six teams in each group) will proceed to the knockout stage. Slovenia will wrap up group stage play with matches against Iceland on Tuesday and Israel on Thursday.
