Luka Dončić’s dispute with his mother began after she refused to relinquish a trademark registered during his rookie season.
Luka Dončić is undeniably a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court, a true standout of his era.
He was born on February 28, 1999, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. At the remarkably young age of 16, Dončić’s professional career took off with Real Madrid, where he made history as the youngest player ever to play for the senior team.
He quickly announced himself to the world, winning the EuroLeague MVP and Final Four MVP in 2018 and leading Spain’s top-flight league as its Most Valuable Player — all before turning 20.
The Atlanta Hawks selected Dončić third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, immediately trading him to the Dallas Mavericks.
From his very first season, he rewrote the record books. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year, made six All-Star teams, and was chosen for the All-NBA First Team five times.
During the 2023–24 season, he became the first European player to top the NBA in scoring, helping the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals.
Then, in February 2025, a huge trade sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that shocked many, and where he now shares the court with his boyhood hero, LeBron James.
Off the court, life for Dončić has been anything but calm. He’s been embroiled in two high-profile controversies lately.
One concerns a legal fight with his mother, while the other revolves around a public custody dispute with his ex-fiancée, both of which have attracted considerable media scrutiny.
Luka Dončić Took Legal Action Against His Mother For Control Of His Brand
Perhaps the most unusual of the controversies involves Dončić taking legal action against his own mother, Mirjam Poterbin.
During his NBA rookie season in 2018, Dončić granted his mother permission to register “LUKA DONCIC 7” as a trademark.
At the time, this seemed like a practical arrangement — Poterbin had been deeply involved in her son’s life and career, relocating to Madrid when Luka was 14 to support him as he pursued his dream with Real Madrid.
She previously told Slovenian outlet Zurnal 24,
“I’ve been raising him on my own since the divorce. Everything I do, I do for him.”
However, the relationship between mother and son became strained over control of the brand.
Dončić’s team reportedly wrote to Poterbin’s company requesting she relinquish the trademark, but she refused.
This forced Dončić into a legal corner — when he attempted to trademark his own name, “Luka Doncic,” the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office preliminarily rejected the application because his mother’s conflicting trademark blocked it.
As a result, Dončić filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark his mother controls.
He described the filing as a last resort to gain full control over his name, brand, charitable foundation, and business affairs.
“I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to grow as a player and a person, and it’s important to me to control my own brand and focus on giving back to my communities,” Dončić stated through longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein.
The dispute carries an ironic parallel to Dončić’s personal life: just as his mother once fought for custody of him following her divorce from his father, Saša Dončić, in 2008, Luka himself now battles for custody of his own children.
Saša, notably, chose not to engage publicly with Mirjam’s comments at the time of the divorce, telling the same outlet:
“That’s her right, to say what she wants. I think we all have our own story. I’m not going to go to that level.”
What makes these controversies particularly striking is the broader pattern they reveal.
The Dončić family has navigated turbulent personal waters across two generations.
His parents’ messy divorce in 2008 — when Luka was just 9-year-old — left lasting marks, with Mirjam relocating to Spain to raise Luka while Saša remained in Slovenia.
Now, Luka finds himself embroiled in both a legal fight against his mother over brand rights and a custody battle with his children’s mother.
Throughout all of it, Dončić has remained remarkably composed on the court.
Even with the turbulence in his personal affairs, he’s still delivering standout performances for the Lakers, who are currently in fourth place in the Western Conference.
His knack for compartmentalizing off-court distractions from his on-court success highlights both his mental strength and his unwavering dedication to the game.
These are the same traits that have been evident since his teenage years, when he was setting records in Madrid.
