Luka Dončić Foundation Unveils 'Inside Youth Basketball 2025' Report to Address Barriers, Burnout, and Inspire Youth Development
The Luka Dončić Foundation unveils the "Inside Youth Basketball 2025" report through his foundation, tackling barriers in youth sports, promoting inclusivity, and fostering growth in young athletes.
DALLAS — Luka Dončić launched the Luka Dončić Foundation on World Basketball Day to celebrate the joy of basketball and create opportunities for young athletes. As part of the launch, the Dallas Mavericks superstar announced the release of the "Inside Youth Basketball 2025" report, a detailed study highlighting the state of youth basketball in the United States and Europe.
The foundation's launch event will host 750 children from local organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, and Dallas ISD, during today’s Mavericks game against the LA Clippers at American Airlines Center.
Dončić, sidelined with a left heel contusion, is working his way back to the court. Even though he couldn't play, Dončić made it clear that his passion for basketball and desire to give back to young athletes remain strong.
"When I was a kid growing up in Slovenia, all I wanted to do was run to the outdoor court behind my apartment to play basketball," Dončić said. "I see how kids are missing out on the joy and magic of the game — whether it’s because of cost, pressure, or programs that forget that basketball should be fun."
Dončić emphasized that his foundation is about helping kids find joy in basketball, creating more opportunities for them to play and thrive.
A Solution to Reignite Joy in Basketball
Dončić's foundation aims to build on these positive experiences through the "Total Hoops Approach," a program that promotes inclusivity, creativity, and long-term growth in youth basketball. The initiative encourages unstructured play, comprehensive skill training, and coach development to reshape the basketball experience for young athletes.
The Total Hoops Approach focuses on skill-building and teamwork over competitive success for long-term development. It encourages multi-position training and reintroduces unstructured play to foster enjoyment and creativity. Additionally, the foundation provides resources for coach education to ensure youth mentors are equipped to prioritize holistic development.
The Total Hoops Approach is centered on the belief that basketball development should extend beyond the court. The program emphasizes the importance of fostering leadership, teamwork, and emotional growth alongside athletic ability. By embedding these values, Dončić envisions the program shaping better athletes and more resilient and well-rounded individuals.
A significant component of the initiative is promoting freedom to play. Dončić's foundation highlights the importance of unstructured basketball environments where kids can experiment, make mistakes, and develop creativity without the pressures of competition. This principle echoes Dončić’s own childhood experiences playing on outdoor courts in Slovenia, where joy and experimentation fueled his growth.
Coaching, Injury Prevention, and Expanding Access
The program also addresses the need for coach development by offering incentives and educational resources. Coaches are encouraged to foster positive environments where young athletes feel supported and motivated. By focusing on players' overall well-being, the Total Hoops Approach aims to mitigate burnout and ensure sustainable engagement in the sport.
The foundation will launch pilot programs in 2025 to expand girls' basketball, establish mentorship networks, and provide financial aid to ensure greater access to the game. Collaboration with the Jr. NBA, FIBA, and other organizations will help expand the Total Hoops Approach globally, using camps and clinics as testing grounds to refine the initiative. These programs will prioritize underserved communities, promote inclusivity, and break down financial barriers that prevent youth participation.
Dončić formed a Youth Sports Leadership Council to guide these efforts, including Stephen Curry, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash. The council will focus on developing coaching certification standards, sustainable funding models, and benchmarks for youth basketball development. ensuring the foundation's initiatives have lasting impact. By embedding these values into the program, Dončić envisions creating systemic change that empowers the next generation of basketball players.
The Total Hoops Approach is based on the idea that youth basketball should nurture growth not just on the court but in all areas of life. The program emphasizes development with purpose, encouraging long-term growth over short-term wins. It also highlights the importance of teamwork, urging players to adopt a collective mindset that prioritizes team success over individual accolades.
Another key aspect is the investment in coach training and incentives, ensuring that young athletes benefit from quality mentorship at every stage of their development. The foundation also stresses program continuity, allowing players to progress through various levels of the sport without disruption, reinforcing consistency and growth.
Another pillar of the approach is embracing failure as part of the growth process. The foundation aims to create environments where mistakes are seen as valuable learning opportunities, fostering resilience and confidence in young players. Beyond the court, the program instills leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and life lessons that extend far beyond basketball, ensuring participants leave with the tools to thrive in any path they choose.
The report highlights how successful basketball programs implement these principles to create positive environments that develop skilled players and well-rounded individuals. Dončić envisions the Total Hoops Approach as a scalable model that can be adapted globally, ensuring that young athletes everywhere can experience the joy of basketball.
The approach embeds wellness components such as off-season breaks, multi-sport participation, and mental health resources, ensuring young athletes achieve balance and sustained growth.
“Basketball has given me so much, and now I want to give back,” Dončić wrote in the report's introduction. “Not everyone who picks up a basketball will go pro — and that’s OK. What matters is that every young person has the chance to discover what this game can mean to them, in an environment that puts their development and happiness first.”
Positive Experiences: The Joy of Basketball
Despite the challenges youth basketball faces, the report highlights the positive impact the game continues to have. A 12-year-old player from Slovenia shared, “Basketball is everything I want.” A U.S. player described how basketball became a refuge, saying, “If I’m having a really bad day at school, I’ll go to the gym, put my AirPods in, and just feel like the whole space is—my mind just gets cleared out—when I shoot around.”
The report also found that 78% of surveyed players in the U.S. said basketball helped them build stronger friendships. In comparison, 65% reported that the sport positively influenced their mental health by offering a healthy escape from stress and school pressures. Parents echoed these sentiments, with many sharing that organized sports like basketball improved their children’s confidence and sense of belonging.
Beyond the game itself, basketball instills valuable life skills in young players. Nearly half of parents reported that basketball had made their children more disciplined, empathetic, and resilient. The sport also fostered leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. One 14-year-old Slovenian player highlighted how the game created friendships beyond language barriers, saying, “We may not speak the same first language, but we all speak basketball.”
In the U.S., a parent described how basketball helped their son cope with the difficulties of a family divorce, transforming the court into a safe space. Another coach recounted how a struggling team evolved into a close-knit family, reinforcing the community aspect of the sport.
Seventy percent of surveyed parents said their children developed stronger friendships through basketball, while 68% noticed improved academic performance and greater focus. A 15-year-old American player added, “Basketball brought me out of my shell. I’m an introvert, but when I’m on the court, I just let loose.”
These experiences reflect the core mission of Dončić’s foundation — ensuring that the game remains a source of joy, personal growth, and community for players worldwide.
Key Challenges in Youth Basketball
The foundation's "Inside Youth Basketball 2025" report results from five months of research. The study gathered data from 1,254 surveys of parents, coaches, and young athletes, as well as interviews with basketball experts and youth program directors. Observations from eight youth basketball camps and training facilities also informed the report.
The report identifies significant challenges in youth basketball, including financial barriers, burnout, and the increasing shift toward individualism over team development. Dončić said the findings reveal an urgent need to prioritize long-term player growth and reduce pressures that negatively impact young athletes.
“Too many kids are walking away from the game,” the report states. “Parents are stressed about costs and intense schedules. Coaches feel compelled to win at all costs rather than foster growth. And kids are losing their childhood on the court, treating basketball like a job.”
One striking example included a young player who suffered a hip fracture from overuse by age 14, a stark reminder of the physical toll the pursuit of competitive basketball can take when balance and recovery are overlooked. “He spent two months on crutches last winter from a hip fracture from overuse. Basketball is a big culprit in our family for injury because there’s so much pounding on the hard floor,” one parent shared.
Highlight Culture and Burnout
The report illuminates the growing trend of "highlight culture" in American youth basketball. Young players increasingly prioritize viral highlight reels over fundamental skills, often sacrificing consistency and teamwork. The study documents cases of players bringing videographers to practices to capture flashy plays despite repeated mistakes during actual games.
One in three young sports fans prefer highlights over full games. This trend shapes how youth basketball is perceived, with players focusing more on individual moves than team development. “They’ll mess up nine out of ten times, but if they do it once right and get it on camera, then it was worth it,” one coach remarked in the report.
Players often internalize the pressure to replicate flashy plays, leading to discouragement when they cannot perform as seen online. This creates a disconnect between developing foundational skills and the pursuit of viral moments. One-third of young players have seen peers post highlight reels "even when the player wasn’t actually any good," illustrating the gap between perception and skill development.
The report also highlights the impact of highlight culture on mental health. Confidence wanes when young athletes fail to match the spectacular plays they watch online, contributing to frustration and burnout. This focus on highlights can overshadow the essential development of basic skills necessary for long-term success.
A veteran coach added, “Even professionals take a break, but these are kids playing more basketball than NBA players,” emphasizing the physical and mental toll of constant competition. The report cites that 27% of U.S. parents attribute rising injury rates to insufficient rest days. One example described a player who fractured his hip from overuse by age 14, underscoring the dangers of burnout and excessive training.
Gender Disparities and Unequal Resources
The report also highlights glaring disparities in resources for girls' basketball programs. Compared to their male counterparts, Girls players often face inequities in practice schedules, equipment quality, and overall suparts.
A Slovenian player shared, “We don’t get practice times until like 9 p.m. when the boys get the earlier slots.” In the U.S., parents echoed similar frustrations, with some girls' teams receiving outdated or fewer resources, while boys' programs received upgraded gear and facilities.
One young player noted, “Boys have whole sweatpants, wardrobes, backpacks, and we get nothing.” A Texas high school coach added, “We have girls’ teams that don’t even have matching uniforms while the boys’ teams get new ones every season. It sends the wrong message to our kids.”
In addition to equipment and practice disparities, girls' teams often face fewer competitive opportunities. A Balkan player remarked, “We need more teams and more chances to play teams from different regions. Right now, we just play the same teams over and over,” highlighting limited exposure and skill development.
Coaching inequities also persist, with girls' teams frequently led by volunteer or underpaid coaches compared to the experienced, full-time staff for boys’ teams. Vanja Černivec, VP of Operations at the Golden State Valkyries, stated, “Most coaches for girls’ youth teams are volunteers or underpaid, which reflects on the quality and motivation of coaching.”
Even when facilities are shared, boys’ teams are often prioritized for prime practice slots, leaving girls' teams with inconvenient times that can impact participation and performance.”
“Through this foundation, we can bring basketball back to what it should be — a game for everyone,” Dončić said. “No matter where you’re from or what your background is, the game should be there for you.”
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