Slovenian superstar and NBA ace Luka Doncic, who had a season full of ups in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey before being sidelined by injury, has now revealed that he will not wear the Slovenian national team jersey this summer after all – but the reason is not of a sporting nature.
Doncic shared an emotional message via Instagram in which he revealed that he is going through a complicated process of fighting for custody of his daughters, which at this moment had a decisive influence on his decision.
“My daughters are my whole world and always come before everything. In a period when I am leading a fight for joint custody, I had to make a very difficult decision between obligations to the national team and the time I want to spend with them. The last eight months have been extremely difficult to see them,” Doncic said.
He added that it is particularly hard for him that he will not be able to help the national team, but that at this moment there is no more important priority than family:
“I gave everything for Slovenia and I will always do so with my heart, so it hurts me that I won’t be playing this summer. However, as a father, I must be with my daughters.”
Slovenia expects important challenges soon in the World Cup qualifiers – on July 3rd they visit Estonia, while three days later they host Sweden at home, but without their biggest star.
Broken engagement and custody battle
The Slovenian superstar is going through one of the most difficult periods in his private life.
Luka and his former fiancée, Anamarija Goltes, have officially ended their long-term relationship, and the famous ace is currently leading a difficult battle for custody of their daughters.
Luka had been in a relationship with Anamarija Goltes since 2016 and proposed to her in July 2023. They had their daughter Gabriela in November 2023, and Olivia in December 2025, when Anamarija gave birth in Slovenia.
Luka attended the birth, but problems arose when he wanted to return to the USA. Doncic intended to take his daughter Gabriela with him to Los Angeles, which is where the problem with his fiancée started, who then called the police.
Police visited the maternity hospital in Kranj on December 6th. According to the police report, which “ESPN” had insight into, the officers “did not establish any elements of a criminal offense or misdemeanor” committed by Luka Doncic.
Doncic then peacefully left the hospital and returned to the United States on the same day, “ESPN” wrote.
Who is Anamarija Goltes?
For years now, Luka has been one of the best basketball players on the planet, and Anamarija is likely largely responsible for that.
Many top athletes often point out that a stable and organized private life is necessary for a successful, long-lasting career, and Luka had that alongside the stunning blonde with whom he was in an idyllic relationship for nearly a decade.
The attractive blonde practiced kickboxing and dance in her youth, and also worked as a fitness instructor and engaged in modeling. She graduated in economics in Ljubljana and shortly after became a model, appearing on the covers of some of the world’s most famous magazines. Interestingly, when she was 15 years old, she was chosen as the most beautiful teenager in Slovenia.
Believe it or not, Luka met Anamarija for the first time when he was only 12 years old. Their families met and socialized in Croatia during summer vacations, and they started their relationship a few years later.
“Luka won me over with his youthful and playful energy. For me at that time, it was something new, fresh… When we met, I was 12 or 13 years old, he was smaller than me, so I can say that height and a muscular body are not that important to me. Luka is simply an interesting person and still has everything that attracted me to him back then,” Anamarija stated at one time.
Due to her relationship with one of the world’s best basketball players, she gained great popularity on social media, and now has over 280 thousand followers on her Instagram account.
Following the breakup, she deleted all photos with Doncic.
Source: Kurir, Photo: AP