Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has faced plenty of criticism regarding his conditioning over the last several months. His alleged issues staying in shape supposedly played a part in the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade him to the storied Lakers franchise back in February.
However, Lakers fans should be thrilled about the contents of a recent report from The Athletic regarding how the Slovenian has been taking care of his body this offseason. According to Dan Woike, Doncic has lost “significant weight” and has been on a “strict diet.” Woike also claimed Doncic has been “incredibly committed to his conditioning.”
“Two, Donฤiฤ has been incredibly committed to his conditioning this offseason,” Woike wrote. “Heโs dropped significant weight and is working on strict diet and cardio training, according to a source with knowledge of the plan. In a shift from his normal offseason, he spent a month away from on-court work to focus more on his body. Donฤiฤ has looked visibly slimmer in photos and is now back working out with Slovenia readying for EuroBasket competition later this summer.”
Maybe Doncic will be able to take another leap as a player if he can continue these good habits for the remainder of the offseason. For as great as Doncic already is, he has room for improvement in terms of taking care of the ball and playing strong defense, and a more fit Doncic might be what the doctor ordered for him to improve in those areas.
The rest of the NBA should be terrified at the thought of a new and improved Doncic, as he was one of the premier players in all of basketball last season despite all of the concerns about his conditioning. He still nearly averaged a triple-double with 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game with the Mavericks and Lakers.
On top of the benefits being in better shape could have on Doncic’s game, it could also have him more well-equipped to sustain a high level of play throughout deep playoff runs.
For example, by the time Doncic’s Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals, it seemed as if the star guard was out of gas. He wasn’t quite the dominant player he was in the opening three rounds of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and he turned the ball over left and right.
Hopefully, Doncic will still be slimmed down by the time the 2025-26 regular season rolls around and looking as lean as ever. There is a lot of time between now and the start of next season, though, so Doncic still has a lot of work to do.
