Bronny James Is Already Planning to Go Back to Slovenia After Luka Doncic Remark

Jarred Vanderbilt joked about getting a Slovenian passport. Given how the rest of his new teammates have talked about the trip since coming home, he might not be the only Laker thinking that way. Bronny James spoke to ESPN LA 710 about the Lakers' four-day minicamp in Ljubljana. The experience left enough of an impression that he's already thinking about a return visit.

Luka Doncic personally chartered the trip for the entire 14-person travelling party. He organized everything from workouts to sightseeing across his home country before training camp opened.

Bronny credited Doncic for making the trip feel like more than a standard team-bonding exercise. "We were with him," Bronny said. "He was hooking us up and getting us in the right places in Slovenia, seeing the most out of the country."

"Slovenia is great," he said. "The city of Ljubljana was great, we had the castle that was close to us. And then we went to Lake Bled. I wanna go back to go to the Alps. The scenery and everything was great."

The plan Doncic built out included a boat tour of the Ljubljanica River and dinner at NEBO restaurant in the heart of Ljubljana. There was a day trip to Lake Bled where the team rowed in an eight alongside former Slovenian Olympians against the backdrop of Vila Zlatorog.

Doncic also arranged a visit to a local hospital to meet expectant parents and newborns. It gave the trip a community-service dimension beyond the golf and sightseeing.

Bronny's reaction fits a pattern that's emerged from nearly every Lakers player who made the trip. Vanderbilt told reporters, "The trip was great. Didn't know much about Slovenia before I came here, but it's definitely a spot I will revisit," before joking about pursuing Slovenian citizenship.

The minicamp arrived at a pivotal moment for the organization. The Lakers spent the offseason navigating LeBron James' departure to Philadelphia, an ownership transition involving Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, and a Buss family dispute that dominated headlines for weeks. Against that, Doncic personally funding and hosting a trip to his hometown for a roster with nine new faces was, as one outlet put it, one of the few "feel-good stories" of the Lakers' summer.

Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and several other new arrivals needed to build real chemistry before opening night. The informal bonding in a setting completely removed from Los Angeles or Las Vegas carried genuine value.

The Lakers open their preseason slate on Oct. 5. They start the regular season on Oct. 21 against Golden State. Whatever chemistry benefits the Slovenia trip produces will be tested immediately.

But if Bronny's comments are any indication, the trip accomplished something beyond team bonding. It turned several Lakers, days before a new season even started, into fans of a country most of them had never previously considered visiting.