Lakers center Jaxon Hayes is officially a Slovenian citizen.
On Monday, after the Lakers team practice ahead of their Game 2 matchup with the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Hayes said he had received his Slovenian passport, thereby making him eligible to suit up alongside his teammate, Luka Doncic, for the Slovenia men’s national basketball team.
“We got my Slovenian passport,” Hayes said, grinning. “It really came through. Luka’s been calling me ‘my Slovenian brother.’ He says it all the time.”
The initial conversation about joining the team started back in October through both Hayes and Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME Sports.
Slovenia, like several international programs, allows one naturalized player on its roster. So Hayes, a 7-footer from Norman, Oklahoma, fit the bill.
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Doncic, who returned to the team last Friday after spending the previous two weeks in Madrid receiving treatment on his injured hamstring must be ecstatic.
Not only does Team Slovenia get a rim-running, lob-catching, vertical presence down low, but it’s a current teammate that he’s comfortable with and can only develop further chemistry with. At least that’s what Lakers’ head coach J.J. Redick is hoping for.
“You’re learning around great players… and a different way to play,” Redick told reporters back in October. “If it happens, building that connection with Luka would be awesome.”
For Hayes, playing for Team Slovenia is all about competing on the international stage and perhaps playing in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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#Lakers center Jaxon Hayes confirms that he received his Slovenian passport. Hayes, the Lakers, Luka Doncic, and both Hayes and Luka’s agent Bill Duffy were pushing for the big man to join the Slovenian national team in the summer and this would confirm that’s going to happen.… pic.twitter.com/rn0vqnZu6p
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) April 20, 2026
Team USA’s roster is constructed by invite only, and Hayes isn’t likely to receive one soon.
There’s just one problem. Hayes doesn’t know the language and everything he’s learned from Doncic has been curse words.
“I don’t know a single word,” Hayes admitted, laughing. “Actually I know a few… but I can’t say them out loud.”
