Mavericks can finally stop holding their breath about Luka Doncic

It's been a long season for Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.

Doncic just completed arguably his greatest professional season as a Maverick, finishing third in NBA MVP voting. He's credited with taking his five-seed Mavericks all the way to the NBA Finals.

Although, since his concerning knee sprain injury in the playoffs, Doncic has been playing with fire.

At one point, it was reported that Doncic would have been sidelined for multiple weeks if it were regular season games. Now, Dallas fans can breathe a sigh of relief now that his international season has come to an end.

Luka Doncic can finally get the rest he needs as Slovenia loses

On Saturday, Slovenia was eliminated from the pre-Olympic qualifiers when they fell to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. Slovenia no longer has the chance to play in the Olympics.

Doncic put up 21 points and shot 7-for-14 in the loss, but it's clear that this was a different team ever since Slovenia walked on the court this summer.

Doncic had been battling injuries that would normally take weeks to heal, and continuously playing on a bad knee probably made his issues even worse. To add to his knee issue, he had to take pain-killing injections during the NBA Finals for his thoracic contusion.

To add onto all of that after the regular season and postseason, Doncic decided to represent his country and play for the pre-Olympic qualifiers for Slovenia this summer. This was seen by some as a risky move to add more reps to his impressive 2023-24 campaign as he was battling injuries for the entire playoffs.

For some, it's unfortunate to see Doncic and his team go home after an early exit, but in the long-term aspect of a career, Doncic has to be resting in time for next season. For Mavs fans holding their breath whenever Luka would go to the ground with blood on his knee, or draw a charge, they don't have to worry anymore. Doncic will have time to hopefully make a full recovery in time for next season.

For more on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, stay tuned.