LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lakers superstar Luka Doncic says he has separated from his fiancee after his efforts to spend more time with their two young daughters were thwarted.
TMZ reported Tuesday that Anamaria Goltes filed a petition for child support and attorneys' fees in California. Doncic then issued a statement to The Associated Press saying he he had recently ended his engagement to Goltes because he was unable to have his daughters with him in Los Angeles more often.
“I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Doncic said in his statement. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness, and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”
The 27-year-old Doncic and Goltes had been dating for a decade after meeting as teenagers in Slovenia. They became engaged in July 2023.
Their oldest daughter, Gabriela, was born in November 2023. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born in December 2025, with Doncic missing two Lakers games while he traveled to Slovenia to be with Goltes.
“I don’t even know how to describe it. It was a lot,” Doncic said at the time. “I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.”
Goltes deleted all of her Instagram photos of her and Doncic together last week, fueling increased speculation around Doncic's relationship.
Doncic moved from the Dallas Mavericks to Los Angeles in a stunning trade for Anthony Davis in February 2025. He agreed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers last summer, cementing his near future in Los Angeles.
Any tumult in Doncic's personal life hasn't appeared to affect him on the court with the Lakers. He is the NBA's leading scorer this season at 32.5 points per game, and he ranks third with 8.4 assists while grabbing 7.8 rebounds.
Doncic had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 89th career triple-double on Tuesday night while the surging Lakers beat Minnesota 120-106 to move into fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić calls for a review of his shot late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić reacts as time runs out in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic reacts after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner isn't about to start bragging, to express any kind of feelings of vindication in proving wrong those who questioned and even doubted whether he could deliver at this time of year.
There has indeed been magic in Marner's play as he leads the Vegas Golden Knights into their Western Conference final series that opens Wednesday night at Colorado.
His 18 points led all NHL skaters through Sunday and includes possibly the goal of the year in Thursday's 5-1 close-out victory at Anaheim.
This production is what his hometown Maple Leafs expected when Toronto drafted him fourth overall in 2015. While Marner became one of the NHL’s top play-making forwards, he took the brunt of criticism for the Leafs failing to advance beyond the second round.
“I don't care what anyone says,” Marner said. “I've been in the league a long time now, so I'll focus on what I can control.”
That includes leading the Golden Knights to the NHL's final four.
“I think the media in Toronto is pretty big and they put a lot of pressure on the players,” Golden Knights wing Ivan Barbashev said. “He's showing completely different things over here. He's been scoring and making a lot of plays, so hopefully he stays the same way.”
Vegas has never been afraid to chase big names and it has a locker room full of such players. Acquiring Marner in a sign-and-trade was the splash deal of last year's offseason, reaching an agreement on an eight-year, $96 million contract.
This postseason is why the Golden Knights pursued him. They followed their 2023 Stanley Cup title team by getting bounced in the first round the following year and the second round last season.
Marner produced two goals and an assist in Game 6 of the opening series to eliminate Utah 5-1. He had a hat trick and an assist to take back home-ice advantage in Game 3 of Round 2 at Anaheim, and ended that series by setting the tone with a goal 1:02 into the Game 6 clincher that few players on the planet could execute.
William Karlsson began by hitting Marner in stride with a perfect stretch pass to spring the breakaway. But with Jackson LaCombe staying with Marner, he fought off the Ducks defenseman, turned his back to the goal and shot the puck between his legs to put Vegas ahead 1-0.
“His IQ is on a different level,” Barbashev said. “He plays defensively and is a 200(-foot) player. He does it all.”
John Tortorella, who became the Golden Knights coach with eight games left in the regular season, sees the same thing about Marner.
“When you're with him every day, you can see his habits," Tortorella said. "You can see the little things he does in the game. Other people see his goals and assists, maybe like the goal he scored the other night. I look at the small things. A lot of people don't realize how the small things turn to bigger things.”
Tortorella, like Bruce Cassidy before him, hasn't been afraid to use Marner in a number of ways, be it at center or wing, the first line or the second.
When the Golden Knights ran a five-forward power play, Marner was the quarterback at the top. Now with defenseman Shea Theodore in that spot with the top unit, the Golden Knights have deployed Marner down lower to better use his ability to score or help someone else find the back of the net.
“There’s even games where the other team carries the game, and they come out on top because of their patience and play-making ability, and Marner has a lot to do with that,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Power play, short-handed, five-on-five, he plays all situations and is dangerous in all of them.”
It's not that Marner didn't play at a high level in Toronto. He scored a career-high 102 points in the 2024-25 season, one of four times he topped 90.
He also produced 13 points in 13 playoff games last year and 14 points in 11 postseason games two years earlier.
But the Maple Leafs as a team didn't play up to expectations, and thus the deal to send Marner to Vegas. Now the Golden Knights are a series away from potentially competing in their third Stanley Cup Final in their nine years in the league, and the Maple Leafs failed to reach the playoffs but won the draft lottery.
Maybe there's another Marner in their future.
“I've always believed I'm a good player," Marner said. “I'm not thinking of anything, just go out there and try to play hockey.”
AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Centennial, Colorado, contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, second from left, celebrates his goal with goaltender Carter Hart during the first period in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, second from right, celebrates after scoring on Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, left, during the first period in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, left, and right wing Mitch Marner congratulate each other after the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
