Luka Dončić petitions to bring daughters to United States amid ongoing custody battle

Los Angeles Lakers star guard Luka Dončić has filed a petition under international rules to have his daughters brought to the United States from Slovenia, according to a source briefed on the situation. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing legal matter."Nothing is more important to me than my daughters," Dončić said in a statement to The Athletic. "I will do whatever it takes to make sure they have both parents present in their lives."Filings of this nature are made as Hague Convention petitions. The Convention "seeks to organize or secure effective exercise of rights of access to a child," according to the U.S. Department of State.Dončić's children, Gabriela and Olivia, are currently in Slovenia, where he's in an ongoing custody battle with his former fiancée, Anamaria Goltes. The two were engaged in 2023 and had dated since 2016. Dončić lives in Slovenia in the offseason. The source said that the petition was filed in Slovenia, and can't be made public under local laws.The Athletic has attempted to reach Goltes for comment through her attorney, and will update this story if he responds.Goltes had filed for child support and legal fees in in Los Angeles last March but later withdrew the petition.Dončić didn't participate in any international play with Slovenia this summer due to the custody situation."I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life," he wrote in an Instagram post last May. "As I continue working toward joint custody of my daughters, I have been forced to make a difficult decision between traveling and playing for the Slovenian national team and being with my daughters this summer. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely difficult for me to see them over the past eight months."Dončić had hoped to resolve the situation with Goltes by Sept. 25, but the deadline passed without resolution with her or the Slovenian courts. He returned to the United States last week ahead of Lakers training camp, with no guarantees of when he'd be able to see either of his daughters again during the NBA season, the source said."G+O, no matter where in the world your Dad is, there is not a day you are not in my heart. Wherever I go, they are always with me," Dončić wrote in an Instagram post last month, translated into English. "I love you both."Dončić's oldest daughter was born in the United States in Nov. of 2023. Last December, Dončić left the Lakers for four days to be in Slovenia for the birth of his youngest daughter.This article originally appeared in The Athletic.