Who is the bigger star in Slovenia: Doncic vs Kopitar?

[Sanderson]

I wonder how it goes in Germany between Draisaitl and that NBA player whose name I dont remember..

If you mean Dirk Nowitzki, it isn't remotely close. Nowitzki is one of the few athletes who transcended their sport. He is known to a wide audience even outside of sports, been on the biggest tv-shows, in tv-commercials and was flag-carrier for Germany at the Olympics. Draisaitl is basically known to hockey fans and those who are somewhat familiar with hockey, but that's about it.

Now if you compare him to the current German basketball-stars like Franz Wagner or Dennis Schröder, it's harder to say. He's the superior athlete, but what happens in North America isn't quite as relevant as other things, for while there is a sizeable following of the North American pro-leagues, it is insignificant compared to the public as a whole. And the German basketball team is the current World Champion, which gives the players involved a big boost.

 

[Albatros]

At least Schröder is clearly ahead of Draisaitl, Wagner is younger but he'll probably get there too. I wouldn't even say that Draisaitl is all that famous for a hockey player relative to his achievements. Many German hockey fans aren't NHL fans after all.

 

[Il Stugotz]

 

[NikF]

Doncic AINEC. Kopitar suffers from hockey being a niche sport in Slovenia. It's easily behind soccer, basketball, handball in team sports and probably voleyball too. People will rally behind the hockey teams if there's success to be had and people followed Kopitar as a star in NA, but generally hockey is not high up the list of people's sports interests.

Everybody knows who Kopitar is but even at his peak there was not a large fanatic following like for Doncic. Popular soccer players like Oblak, Handanovic, Sesko etc. probably have a bigger status than Kopitar had as well. Not to mention the long-retired Zahovic. You could even make the case for a skier like Tina Maze. Pogacar is probably bigger as well.

Unfortunately Slovenia completely failed to turn Kopitar's success to any sort of improvement in hockey infrastructure and popularity, if anything it somehow got worse with years with some financial problems of the two top clubs.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Is this for real? Doncic is a household name in the world.. Let alone his home country.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Silly question. Luka.

 

[majormajor]

Imagine if a guy from your hometown in North America became one of the top fifteen handball players in the world.

You would get a lot of local news stories about him and people would know his name, but that's about it, because it's not a big sport in your culture. If your country has an Olympic handball team maybe everyone follows during the Olympics, but Slovenia rarely has that with hockey. They don't usually qualify. So in 2014 when they made the quarterfinals that may have been the high water mark for interest in Kopitar in Slovenia.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Doncic since he was like 16 lol he's on a different stratosphere and could be the face of the NBA for the next decade now that he's in LA

 

[I am not exposed]

Which two people voted for Kopitar?

Even his Mum wouldn't vote for her son lol

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Luka was getting major attention before he was even drafted. A can't-miss prospect that made Mark Cuban cream in his f***in jeans.

 

[spiny norman]

Lopsided result.