Photo courtesy of FIBA

Luka Doncic Says NBA Has Better Defenders, But Europe Plays Better Team Defense

Luka Doncic is one of the biggest stars competing in the 2022 EuroBasket tournament. He leads the way for the Slovenian national team with averages of 26.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game on 53.8% shooting from the field.

This is nothing new for Doncic as he previously took part in EuroBasket 2017 where he helped the team win the tournament to secure their first ever gold medal in a major men’s senior event. Doncic also has a ton of European basketball experience which makes this setting such as a familiar ground.

Speaking European basketball, the Slovenian superstar now claimed that Europe plays better team defense than the NBA despite the NBA featuring better defensive players. He made similar comments three years ago when he explained why scoring is easier in the NBA. 

Per Eurohoops:

“I think you have better defenders in the NBA obviously. But here in Europe the team defense is more impressive obviously,” Doncic said in the post-game presser after Slovenia’s Eurobasket win over co-host Germany. “Because of the smaller court, you don’t have the three-second violation. So I think the team defense is very important.”