Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić is lighting up EuroBasket 2022 for the Slovenian national team. He’s averaging 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game as Slovenia won group B with a 4-1 record and advanced to the knockout round. Dončić is doing this while embroiled in a legal battle with his mother over control of his trademark, according to reports.
LEGENDARY. Luka Doncic is simply out of this world! 🛸
Most points in a EuroBasket game in the last 65 years, and we are all witnesses.
📊 47 PTS | 7 REB | 5 AST | 4 STL#EuroBasket x #BringTheNoise pic.twitter.com/4FcDw7S3y6
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 7, 2022
The three-time All-NBA and three-time All-Star filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office regarding canceling the “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark, controlled by his mother Mirjam Poterbin.
“I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to grow as a player and a person and it’s important to me to control my own brand and focus on giving back to my communities,” Dončić said in a statement to The Stein Line.
Dončić used that logo — his name with the “L” as an upside down 7 and another 7 underneath the “D” to incorporate his jersey number — early in his NBA career. Poterbin, at the time, provided “assistance and guidance for his off-court business opportunities,” according to the petition provided by his law firm, Brown Rudnick.
Last year Dončić wanted to consolidate his brand without his mother’s involvement and attempted to negotiate a transfer of control for use of the trademark, but he hasn’t been successful.
Dončić’s operating company Luka99 Inc., with whom all his brand partnerships hold agreements, functioned as the formal petitioner in his latest filing.
Sounds like this is about money.
Dončić is a superstar on the verge of even more fame and riches. He’ll be an MVP candidate, barring injury, for the next decade. He signed a five-year $215 million rookie extension. He’s on a five-year $75 million deal with Jordan Brand which began in 2019 and has his first signature shoe with the iconic brand.
As Dončić continues to engage in more of court ventures his portfolio will begin to grow and anyone associated with the “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark is likely to make money.
It is unclear what, if any, official arrangement Dončić has with Poterbin.
A new logo appears on Dončić’s signature shoe and Jordan Brand clothing and which incorporates his initials (LD), his uniform number (77) and an S representing his home country. The logo also is included in the center circle of both courts that Dončić, in conjunction with the philanthropic arm of the NBA 2K video game franchise, refurbished in his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia, last September.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has not approved any of the applications filed by Dončić because of the existing “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark that Poterbin hasn’t relinquished after multiple attempts at private negotiations and more than a year after Dončić’s first formal request.
Slovenia is tied with Serbia with the second best odds (+320) to win EuroBasket 2022. Serbia is led by the two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Both squads are chasing tournament favorite Greece (+230) led by two-time NBA MVP and DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
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