According to BasketNews, Los Angeles Lakers center and Luka Doncic’s teammate Jaxson Hayes is in the final stage of obtaining Slovenian citizenship.
The American center is set to soon become Doncic’s teammate on another team as well, as he is expected to play for the Slovenian national team.
Claim Now Hayes is nearing the completion of the naturalization process and will become Slovenia’s new option at the center position, a role in which the national team has relied on naturalized players for years.
Following successful stints by players such as Josh Nebo, and before him Anthony Randolph, there was significant discussion about Daniel Gafford, Doncic’s former teammate from the Mavericks, potentially becoming their successor.
However, after the separation between the Mavericks and Doncic, that idea faded and was never realized. Now it appears that Luka Dončić himself was the direct connection between Hayes and Slovenia, which could provide the national team with major help in upcoming competitions.
This season with the Lakers, Jaxson Hayes has been serving as a backup center, averaging 6.5 points and 4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes over 37 games.
Danilo Andjusic (@Djusa33), the recently signed Aris (@ARISBCgr) guard, spoke exclusively to Basketball Sphere in an depth interview:
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) January 26, 2026
🟡 Huge excitement around Aris,
🟡 Head coach Igor Milicic
🟡 Partizan, Zeljko Obradovic and Vanja Marinkovichttps://t.co/Hy9QQ4qg9K
🟡 Dusan…
