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The Los Angeles Lakers center, Jaxson Hayes, is in the final stages of completing paperwork to obtain Slovenian citizenship and represent Slovenia alongside Luka Doncic, sources tell BasketNews. Hayes, 25, born in Norman, Oklahoma, first confirmed in October that he was pursuing Slovenian citizenship. According to BasketNews sources, the process is nearing completion, with Hayes finalizing the remaining paperwork to obtain a Slovenian passport. If completed on time, Hayes would be eligible to play for Slovenia in the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualification windows in July and August.
Boban Marjanovic is the new member of Ilirija, as confirmed on the ABA League website, where this Slovenian club competes. What was speculated in the past few days has now been confirmed, and the Serbian basketball player has become a new member of Ilirija, which is in the ABA League this season.
The team run by general manager Sasa Doncic, father of his former Dallas Mavericks teammate Luka, is a newcomer to the top division of the regional league, after earning promotion from the second tier last season.
Dave McMenamin: Jaxson Hayes says he is pursuing a Slovenian passport to be able to play on the national team with Luka Doncic. Beyond the chance to play with Doncic, Hayes says his interest has been sparked by the fact that USA Basketball does not hold open tryouts — which he doesn’t agree with
Iztok Franko: Jaxson Hayes on his relationship with Luka: "That's my guy, we're working on getting me a Slovenian passport right now so I can play with him next summer." Marc Stein: The Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes said last night in Las Vegas that he is trying to secure a Slovenian passport to play alongside Luka Dončić on Slovenia’s national team as its naturalized player.
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Luka Updates: Jaxson Hayes says he's woking on a Slovenian passport to play with Luka on national team YT/sportingtrib
Jaxson Hayes says he's woking on a Slovenian passport to play with Luka on national team
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) October 16, 2025
YT/sportingtrib pic.twitter.com/piAwMJEpN2
Slovenia had previously explored the idea of naturalizing Daniel Gafford, but that plan never materialized. This offseason, Hayes re-signed with the Lakers on a one-year deal that includes a rare no-trade clause. The 25-year-old center averaged 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over 56 games last season, starting 35 of them. His role expanded after Los Angeles traded Anthony Davis to Dallas in early February. A six-year NBA veteran, Hayes began his career with the New Orleans Pelicans. In the upcoming 2025–26 season, he's expected to serve as the backup center to Deandre Ayton, the former No. 1 overall pick.
BasketNews: Franz Wagner on skinny Luka Doncic: " He's like that all the time." 🗣 #EuroBasket pic.x.com/Xo0ftDi1Rf
After another incredible game ( 39 points - a record for the quarterfinals of the European Championship ) , Luka Dončić took responsibility and stood before the Slovenian media. " I'm angry, 100 percent angry. I could have done more in the last quarter, I forced shots, I could have done better in key moments, I didn't make the right decisions... Kudos to the guys, we showed that we can win. We all fought, we gave our all ." He pointed out that despite all the problems and poor start, the Slovenians wanted more than the quarterfinals. " It wasn't a good enough result for us, we aimed for more, but many spoke disrespectfully about us. We are fighting for Slovenia, for the jersey, we all give 100%, kudos to everyone, we could have been on vacation, but we fought for every ball, we gave our all, " said Dončić .
He didn't want to talk to the referees, even though he was called for a fourth foul at the beginning of the third quarter. " I don't want to talk about the referees. I got a technical after two minutes of play, because I said 'Hello', but okay, so the fourth foul at the beginning of the third quarter, something like that has never happened to me ."
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Slovenia led 74–67 in the final seconds of the third quarter, when da Silva drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to four. That triple sparked a 10–0 German run to turn the game around. Luka Dončić kept Slovenia in contention and even restored a brief lead with four minutes remaining, but Germany ultimately prevailed 99-91 to advance to the EuroBasket 2025 semifinals. Luka Dončić finished the quarterfinal clash with 39 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, despite picking up his fourth personal foul with nearly eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. Luka’s 39 points are the most ever by anyone in a EuroBasket quarter-final game.
Earlier in the tournament, Luka Doncic became only the fourth player since 1995 to post a triple-double in a EuroBasket game with 26 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Slovenia's 86-69 win over Belgium.
Marc Stein: The @EuroBasket quarterfinals are set: Lithuania v Greece Türkiye v Poland Germany v Slovenia Finland v Georgia More NBA from me: https://tinyurl.com/3uasyd2p