Lakerscenter Jaxon Hayesis officially a Slovenian citizen.
On Monday, after the Lakers team practice ahead of their Game 2 matchup with the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Hayes said he had received his Slovenian passport, thereby making him eligible to suit up alongside histeammate, Luka Doncic, for the Slovenia men’s national basketball team.
“We got my Slovenian passport,” Hayes said, grinning. “It really came through. Luka’s been calling me ‘my Slovenian brother.’ He says it all the time.”
The initial conversation about joining the teamstarted back in Octoberthrough both Hayes and Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME Sports.
Slovenia, like several international programs, allows one naturalized player on its roster. So Hayes, a 7-footer from Norman, Oklahoma, fit the bill.
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Doncic, who returned to the team last Friday after spending the previous two weeks in Madridreceiving treatment on his injured hamstringmust be ecstatic.
Not only does Team Slovenia get a rim-running, lob-catching, vertical presence down low, but it’s a current teammate that he’s comfortable with and can only develop further chemistry with. At least that’s what Lakers’ head coach J.J. Redick is hoping for.
“You’re learning around great players… and a different way to play,” Redick told reporters back in October. “If it happens, building that connection with Luka would be awesome.”
For Hayes, playing for Team Slovenia is all about competing on the international stage and perhapsplaying in the 2028 Summer Olympicsin Los Angeles.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
