LA Lakers center Jaxson Hayes received great news on Monday regarding his future career in international competition. Hayes confirmed after the team’s practice that he has received his Slovenian passport. The Lakers big man, his agent, Bill Duffy, and Luka Doncic have been pushing for him to become a Slovenian citizen.
This makes him eligible to be a naturalized player for the Slovenian men’s national basketball team. The program allows one naturalized player, and Hayes could take up that spot.
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“We got my Slovenian passport,” Hayes told reporters. “It really came through. Luka’s been calling me ‘my Slovenian brother.’ He says it all the time.”
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Hayes has pursued it since October 2025. He said that he wants to fulfill his dreams of playing on the international stage. While he would like to play for Team USA, the “invite-only” process that the program has hinders him from being a part of it.
Fans were ecstatic to learn that Jaxson Hayes may be Doncic’s next colleague on the Slovenian national team. Here are some of what the fans said.
“Slovenian brother unlocked Luka just gained another weapon,” a fan said.
“Luka Doncic got his Lakers teammate a passport so they can run the pick-and-roll for the national team this summer,” another fan commented.
“Yk what, I lowkey respect it he’s just tryna extend his career,” one fan said.
Other fans are looking forward to the new duo for the Slovenian team.
“Luka’s been calling him his ‘Slovenian brother’ for a reason — that lob threat fits perfectly with his playmaking,” someone commented.
“Jaxson Hayes x Luka Dončić about to be chaos this summer 🔥” a comment read.
“Slovenia’s addition of Hayes would be exciting this summer,” one fan commented.
Jaxson Hayes Recalls Seeing Luke Kennard’s Potential
Jaxson Hayes and Luke Kennard are both Ohio natives. They’re familiar with each other because of the local basketball scene. On Monday, Hayes told the media how he saw from an early age that Kennard had the potential to make it to the NBA.
“He’s three years older than me. My roommate now grew up with him. My roommate Justin grew up working out with Luke and I’ve known Justin for years, I’ve known Luke for years,” Hayes said. “So yeah, I used to grow up watching him drop 40, 50 a game in high school. It was fun times.”
Hayes’ comments about Kennard came after the latter led the Lakers in Game 1 past the Houston Rockets. The former Duke star had a team-high of 27 points on 5-for-5 shooting from deep. His efficient scoring night was exactly what the team needed to set the tone of the series.
Edited by Reign Amurao
