Luka Doncic has announced he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer in order to devote more time to his two daughters.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is currently embroiled in a messy custody battle with ex-fiancée Anamaria Goltes, who filed a petition for child support and attorney fees from him earlier this year.
Following LA’s playoff exit last week, Doncic was expected to link up with Slovenia at some point this summer to prepare for the FIBA World Cup, which gets underway at the end of August.
Yet in an Instagram post on Tuesday, he revealed spending time with his two young girls – Gabriela, 2, and five-month-old Olivia – is the biggest priority right now amid his legal fight with model and influencer Goltes.
‘I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life,’ Doncic wrote. ‘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 has announced he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer
Doncic, who is currently in custody battle with ex-fiancee Anamaria Goltes (right), instead plans to spend more time with his two young daughters
He then added: ‘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.’
Doncic, who has been out for the past month with a hamstring strain, recently agreed to push back a hearing in the custody battle from mid-May to later this summer.
According to court filings obtained by The Daily Mail, his attorney Laura Wasser agreed to several dates, all of which take place on or after June 18.
Doncic recently made an emotional return to he and Goltes’ native Slovenia to reunite with his daughters, according to reports. He initially went to Spain to begin an intensive and specialized rehabilitation program in Madrid, where he previously played professionally as a teenager.
After undergoing the first phase of his recovery, the 27-year-old took a flight from Spain to Ljubljana to spend quality time with daughters Gabriela and Olivia, according to Ekipa.
The reunion provided a rare moment of family joy for Doncic as he continues to navigate an increasingly messy legal split from his childhood sweetheart.
He made the ‘tough decision’ to end his engagement with Goltes in March just months after the birth of their second daughter, Olivia.
The Lakers star pictured with his eldest daughter Gabriela in a post from his Instagram in 2025
‘I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the US during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,’ he said in a statement provided to ESPN. ‘Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.’
The split has turned bitter, with Doncic accusing Goltes of filing for child support in California to ‘avail herself’ of the state’s generous payment laws.
Court documents reveal Doncic filed a motion to dismiss the petition, arguing that neither Goltes nor the children are actually residents of California.
The upcoming hearing, which was moved from May to August, was scheduled to address his motion to dismiss.
Doncic wants the dispute to be settled in their home nation of Slovenia, where he had already initiated a family law action in March.
