Luka’s teammate says he’s ‘faster,’ expects Lakers star to be ‘best version’

Much has been made of Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic’s physical transformation this summer. After he was on the receiving end of a lot of harsh criticism about his conditioning during the 2024-25 campaign, he looks to have noticeably slimmed down.

The new-look Doncic is with the Slovenian national team right now for EuroBasket — even though he had an injury scare recently — and his teammate on the national team, Edo Muric, noted that Doncic is now “faster” and that he expects the Lakers star to be the “best version” of himself.

“Yeah, he’s faster and jumps more,” Muric told BasketNews. “And this year, I expect him to be the best version of himself.”

Muric’s opinion that Doncic now has an extra pep in his step backs up a claim made by an NBA scout. One scout who was in attendance for the EuroBasket contest between Slovenia and Germany claimed that Doncic is more “explosive” in light of all the work he’s put in on his body.

Another one of Doncic’s teammates with Slovenia, Aleksej Nikolic, also reminded folks of just how difficult it is to defend the five-time NBA All-Star.

“It’s super hard [to defend him],” Nikolic said.

Doncic revealed his motivation behind his body transformation, and it’s likely a reason that fans of the storied Lakers franchise will love. He said that he’s motivated to climb the league’s mountaintop and win a championship at the highest level. Doncic has played in an NBA Finals before but has yet to capture the ultimate prize, as his Dallas Mavericks lost the 2024 championship series in five games.

Lakers fans are hoping that Doncic will be a new and improved player on the defensive end of the floor following his offseason transformation. He has had problems holding his own on that end throughout his pro career and had his share of defensive woes in the Lakers’ first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Fans of the storied Lakers franchise won’t know definitively as to whether Doncic’s conditioning will pay dividends on the court until the 2025-26 campaign commences. The Lakers’ first game of the season will be a matchup versus the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21. That contest will also be a home game for Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena.