Markkanen is followed by Doncic: Isaac Bonga is the man for the special opponents

Everyday stress, psychological strain, and nervousness – these are three factors that top a long list when considering the possible causes of nightmares. In Riga , Latvia, where Europe's best basketball players currently fall into bed at night, another nightmare source is currently circulating that brings all three factors to its victims: Isaac Bonga.

The 25-year-old is currently shaking things up at Eurobasket 2025 in the German national team. With an energetic effort that borders on obsession, arguably the best defender in the entire tournament is wreaking havoc on defense. Bonga is destroying the offensive rhythm of entire teams and personally damaging the self-confidence of some of the best basketball players in the world. Bonga's next opportunity to do so will be on Wednesday evening (8 p.m.) in the quarterfinals against Slovenia – in a direct duel with NBA superstar Luka Doncic.

Luka Doncic's move shocks the basketball world

It's a name even people who know little or nothing about basketball might recognize. When Doncic was traded out of the blue from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, the news swept through the basketball world like a tsunami. Six months later, the 26-year-old Don from Ljubljana is Slovenia's sole entertainer at the European Championship. Doncic is the tournament's top scorer with 34 points per game, he plays the second-most minutes, and he dishes out the second-most assists. He plays like one of the three best basketball players in the world.

On the one hand, Germany's reserve national coach Alan Ibrahimagic recently said: "Even Luka can't win a game on his own. We're not playing against Luka Doncic, but against Slovenia." On the other hand, it's also abundantly clear: Without the sporting heroics of their nationally adored leader, the Slovenians would have had almost no chance of reaching the knockout phase, let alone the quarterfinals. Either way, they are clear underdogs there on Wednesday against the German Basketball Federation (DBB) team. Not least because the DBB team boasts a defensive gem in Bonga, for whom the oft-quoted metaphor of the sporting Swiss Army knife truly fits perfectly. This was the case during the 2023 World Cup title and is also the case at this year's European Championship.

Bonga is by no means like one of those small knives that offer 15 functions but can't fulfill every purpose. Bonga is the luxury version. It provides important offensive impetus, reliably hits his three-pointers, but, above all, is as versatile defensively as the more than 30 tools of the best of all pocket knives. Take, for example, the stature of the Partizan Belgrade forward – around 2.04 meters tall, paired with a wingspan of 2.13 meters. What's remarkable here is the composition of Bonga's body: He is muscular but lanky. Strong but agile. Stable but fast.

Added to this is a rare defensive intuition, a feel for rotations and passing lanes. In an overall finely tuned German defensive machine, Bonga is the most reliable of all cogs. He reliably keeps his opponents in front of him, helps his teammates when they need it, and makes shots and passes difficult, if not impossible. No matter which of his teammates you've spoken to so far in Finland or Riga, they all have praised Bonga highly.

Meanwhile, the lauded player himself seems reluctant to speak about his own qualities, and therefore rarely does so. Four years in the colorful NBA circus have shaped Bonga in the form of occasional stylistic extravagance, but not in the form of an overflowing ego. Bonga is often in a good mood, laughs a lot, but exudes a very pleasant calmness – at least off the court.

On the wooden basketball floor, Bonga switches into a different mode this summer when Germany's European Championship games begin. The core of his accumulated defensive tools is his mentality. It allows Bonga to work tirelessly defensively, dive after every ball, be the fastest to get back on defense, and tire even the best opponents out of it.

Finland's superstar Lauri Markkanen is slowed down by Bonga

In the group stage, for example, Bonga was primarily responsible for the previously outstanding Finnish NBA star Lauri Markkanen scoring only 11 points per game against Germany instead of his usual 26. "I'm looking forward to these matchups," Bonga said in an interview with Magenta Sport after the game, adding that he also takes them "a little personally." Just as Bonga will take Wednesday's duel with Luka Doncic personally.

While neither the German team as a whole, let alone one player alone, can completely take the exceptional Slovenian talent out of the game, Bonga will nevertheless approach the match with the same attitude he did against Finland's Markkanen: "I want him to have nightmares about me afterward. I hope he goes home and dreams about me."