Injury Report: Luka Doncic’s Team Suffers Massive Setback as 6’8 Nuggets Forward Set to Miss 2023 FIBA World Cup

The NBA offseason has a different meaning for different players. Some players like to spend time away from basketball and blow off steam. Then there can be players who can’t enough of the game action and dominate in international tournaments. Then there are players who don’t get enough minutes in the NBA season, so they engage in international tournaments. However, the atmosphere in FIBA tournaments is tense and the games can be much more physical, further leading to injuries.

One such NBA player who is the Slovenian teammate of Luka Doncic had a scary injury caught on camera.

Luka Doncic and Slovenia are in a sour mood

The nature of NBA basketball is a lot of uphill, downhill, and diagonal movement with variations in speed. Therefore, the likelihood of injuries is high in this league. The 100s of practices and one of the toughest sporting schedules only adds to the injury list. For NBA players, such long and hard travels alongside the wear and tear of the body can translate during their offseason hooping endeavors. 

The current window is fielding the FIBA World Cup Exhibition Games. Despite some high-profile withdrawals like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the field is stacked with NBA stars. Superstar Luka Doncic is also figuring in the preparations and has already put up big-time numbers.

During the friendly contest between Greece and Slovenia, Doncic’s teammate and Denver Nuggets 6’8 Forward Vlatko Cancar got injured while playing. In a fastbreak situation, Cancar went for a dunk from a distance and picked up a left knee injury.

When he goes for the dunk, Greece’s Shooting Guard Giannoulis Larentzakis comes in his way and makes him adjust. Because of the adjustment, he is off-balanced when he lands after making the dunk. In the process, he injured his left knee. Then the news is out that it is a Torn ACL.

Because of this injury, the Forward has no timetable to return and is probably going to miss the FIBA World Cup 2023 in Quezon, Philippines, and Okinawa, Japan.

Unfortunately, Cancar will be out of action.

Painful news for many

During the 2022-23 window, Nuggets Forward Vlatko Cancar had the best season of the NBA career. He averaged a career-high in minutes (almost 15 minutes per game), in points (five per game), and pretty much in all categories. He didn’t get playing time in the Playoffs but that may follow soon. But the current injury is an impediment. 

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Nonetheless, he had some amazing moments, including a half-court buzzer-beater from beyond the half-court against his Slovenian teammate Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

This is his second major injury since he suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal on his right foot. He suffered this injury in January 2021, co-incidentally, once against Doncic’s Mavs.

This is upsetting news for both the Nuggets and Slovenia.

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