The FIBA EuroBasket tournament is an interesting peek into world basketball. Some of the biggest superstars in the world are suiting up for their home countries alongside players many fans have never heard of. However, these are battle-tested groups with deep histories together and a desire to leave their mark on world basketball. Two such teams are Slovenia and Poland.
The Slovenians are 4.5-point favorites and hold -180 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 176 points. Let’s look at the best bets and predictions for this PolandโSlovenia contest.
Poland vs. Slovenia preview
Each team has exactly one player with recent NBA experience. You’ve seen both a hundred times, but not for the same reasons.
Jordan Loyd, a naturalized Polish citizen, is the only player on the Polish roster who currently competes in the top tier of the EuroLeague. He was part of an AS Monaco team that finished as EuroLeague runners-up in the past season. But that’s not what he’s remembered for. Loyd, a former Toronto Raptors player, has been in a million Instagram reels and “on this day” or “remember when?” tweets. Loyd is known for being Random Guy in a Suit in this iconic photo.
Loyd was also the Raptors’ practice substitute for Steph Curry as they figured out how to defend him in the 2019 Finals. But seeing how he scored 30.5 PPG in the series, he could have done a better job. Still, Loyd is the best lead guard for this Polish team, and a capable creator in European competition. But he’s going to have a hard time keeping up with his opposite number, Luka Donฤiฤ.
Donฤiฤ loves to show out on the international stage. In EuroBasket 2022, he put up 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. Those may sound identical to his NBA stats, but remember that the games are 40 minutes instead of 48. Luka led the 2023 FIBA World Cup with 26.4 PPG. And though the Slovenians were eliminated in a bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, Donฤiฤ put up a 27.7/9.7/8.3 average across three games to push them as far as he could.
For them to get out of the group stage, they’ll need Luka to be his superhuman self. And luckily for the Slovenians, that’s exactly what he looked like in the friendly warm-up games. Even if he cannot will them to a deep run in EuroBasket, Luka has the chutzpah to push them past Poland by himself, if he has to.
