A week ago, the annual offseason questions about Luka Doncic seemed to be getting louder.
His conditioning has always been a big question mark, and early on in EuroBasket 2022, the 23-year-old Dallas Mavericks sensation didn't look great. His signature drives to the paint lacked explosiveness, and he was settling for tough unassisted 3s, but those weren't falling either.
In Slovenia's first three games in group stage play in Cologne, Germany, Doncic averaged 16.7 points per game, shooting 47% from the field and a dismal 18% from 3-point range. That cold stretch culminated with a shocking loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, a first for Doncic in EuroBasket play.
That defeat, in which the three-time NBA All-Star missed all eight of his 3-point attempts, was a wake-up call. To say Doncic has turned up his level of play since then would be an understatement.
Now Slovenia heads into the quarterfinals -- and a matchup against Poland (2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN+) -- back on track to potentially win a second consecutive EuroBasket title, thanks in large part to Doncic, who is showing his ceiling is as high as it has ever been.