Louisville native AJ Slaughter leads Poland to EuroBasket semis over Luka Doncic, Slovenia
Louisville’s own AJ Slaughter is on the brink of making it to the EuroBasket finals.
On Wednesday afternoon, Slaughter helped lead Poland to a shocking 90-87 win over defending champion Slovenia in the EuroBasket quarterfinals. Slovenia is ranked as the 5th best team in the world by FIBA and is headlined by NBA young NBA superstar Luka Doncic. Slaughter finished the victory with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 34 minutes played while shooting 6-14 from the field.
Poland is in the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time since 1971.
Slaughter, 35, played his high school ball at Shelby County High School outside of Louisville, KY. Despite holding multiple Power 5 scholarship offers as a three-star recruit, he opted to stay close to home and play for Western Kentucky from 2006-10. While with the Hilltoppers, the 6-foot-3 guard appeared in 135 college games.
During his junior and senior seasons at WKU, Slaughter averaged 16.0 and 17.5 points per game, respectively. He was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team in 2010 and the Second-Team in 2009.
Slaughter officially became a Polish citizen in June 2015 and has played with the country ever since. Entering Wednesday’s game, he was leading Poland in scoring with 14.0 points per game. He poured in 24 points earlier this week to help his team make its first quarterfinals in 25 years.
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After leaving Bowling Green, Slaughter has gone on to have a fruitful professional career, even if he never made it to the NBA. Slaughter has suited up for various franchises across the globe, including stops in Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, and Spain (where he plays now), among others. He’s also participated multiple times in The Basketball Tournament, which takes place every summer on ESPN.
Poland came into Wednesday’s matchup against Slovenia and Doncic as a massive underdog. Doncic is easily considered one of the most talented players in the entire world, but he dealt with foul trouble against a pesky and determined Poland squad.
Next up for Poland will be France and its multi-time NBA All-Star Rudy Gobert. Tipoff is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16 at 1:05 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
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