From Doncic to Jokic: NBA stars to play in EuroBasket 2025
Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Santi Aldama, Kristaps Porzingis and more will represent the world’s best basketball league at EuroBasket 2025.
Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Nikola Jokic (Serbia).VOZ/Cordon Press.
The top European basketball tournament at the national team level is about to begin. EuroBasket 2025 is presented as a colossal spectacle for basketball lovers, a big dose of excitement and fun before the start of the new NBA season.
It will feature some of the best players from the best basketball league in the world, who will defend their national teams, their flags and their shields with all their might. Players of the stature of Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Franz Wagner, Kristaps Porzingis, Zaccharie Risacher, Santi Aldama, Deni Avdija and Alperen Sengun, among others, will lead their countries towards the title as they look to knock off reigning EuroBasket champion Spain.
Luka DoncicCordon Press.
Luka Doncic (Slovenia)
After a season in which he starred in one of the most controversial and transcendent trades in NBA history (from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers), Luka Doncic, 26, will lead Slovenia in EuroBasket 2025. It will be a complex mission, a difficult task, since his national team is not shaping up as one of the favorites to win the title. Everything will depend on the hands of the point guard, on how he interprets both the offensive and defensive game of the Slovenian roster.
Giannis AntetokounmpoCordon Press.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
Since the 2020-2021 season when they clinched the NBA title, the Milwaukee Bucks have gradually declined, and with them, their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 30-year-old forward lands at EuroBasket 2025 to try to lead Greece to the title. In recent editions, his national team has always appeared as one of the contenders to win the competition, but this year that status seems to have been lost.
Nikola JokicCordon Press.
Nikola Jokic (Serbia)
He is probably the best basketball player in the world right now. His stats in the best basketball league in the world would back up that designation. Nikola Jokic, 30, will play EuroBasket 2025 with his country, Serbia, which is the national team with the largest number of players competing in the NBA. Against them plays the pressure, as they are the favorites. To achieve their goal, they will have to have the Denver Nuggets star in his best condition.
Kristaps PorzingisCordon Press.
Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia)
After being key to the Boston Celtics winning their 18th championship in 2023-2024, an injury sidelined him for most of the season this season, and he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Kristaps Porzingis, 30, wants to redeem himself and lift the EuroBasket 2025 championship title with Latvia. A priori, his national team will have to fight against the tide to succeed, although Eastern European countries can never be underestimated.
Santi AldamaCordon Press.
Santi Aldama (Spain)
While his national team is in a period of transition, Santi Aldama is emerging as one of the new leaders of the new generation of Spain. The 24-year-old Memphis Grizzlies player has the mission of being one of the main responsible for his country to defend the crown at EuroBasket 2025, which it currently holds as reigning champion. However, the team already has two notable handicaps: the retirement of several of its stars and injuries that have affected the Spanish roster.
Deni AvdijaCordon Press.
Deni Avdija (Israel)
He has been in the NBA for five seasons and his growth has been, to say the least, remarkable. In his first year with the Portland Trail Blazers, Deni Avdija, 24, put up solid numbers, which, now, he will have to transfer to EuroBasket 2025 with his country, Israel. He is the only NBA player in the roster of a national team that will have a hard time reaching high levels in this European competition.
Zaccharie RisacherAFP.
Zaccharie Risacher (France)
“Les Bleus” face a similar situation to Spain. France is facing a moment in which important pieces of its squad have left and new ones have entered, many of them rising stars. One of them is Zaccharie Risacher, 20. The Atlanta Hawks player, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft, is set to be one of the new leaders of the French national team, always considered one of the favorites to win the competition that is now beginning.
Franz WagnerCordon Press.
Franz Wagner (Germany)
The Orlando Magic player travels to EuroBasket 2025 with Germany to try to get a trophy that seems somewhat remote to achieve. Although if Franz Wagner, who will turn 24 while playing the competition, performs the same way he has done during this season with the Magic, the German national team will have a better chance of winning the title.
Alperen SengunCordon Press.
Alperen Sengun (Turkey)
One of the possible surprises of this EuroBasket 2025 could be Turkey. It has two players competing in the NBA. One of them is Alperen Sengun. The 23-year-old big man was one of the pillars of a Houston Rockets team that stunned in the last NBA regular season, but disappointed in the Playoffs. This summer, he will look to lead the Turks in their bout to shock the world at EuroBasket 2025.
