Luka Doncic Went From Being Traded And Called Fat By The Mavs To The Cover Of Men's Health For Being In Great Shape Just 5 Months Later

David Berding. Getty Images.

Every NBA offseason without fail, you can always bank on hearing about how "Player X" is in the best shape of his life. Once this time of the calendar rolls around you can be certain that your timelines will be filled with players doing shit in open runs that make them look incredible despite the reality they'll never play that way in an actual NBA game, and stories/claims/etc about how they've never been in better shape. It's that type of propaganda and hope that fuels a lot of fanbases at this stage of the offseason. 

Perhaps one of the most extreme cases of this is of course, Luka Doncic. You remember Luka right? The 25 year old basketball phenom who was traded in large part because his previous team couldn't stop talking about how fat and out of shape he was. Granted he looked a little thick, but whatever. The production was still there, and that doesn't change the fact that the second the Mavs sent him out the door they wasted no time releasing all those "leaks" about his weight and conditioning and how there was simply no way they could content for a title with him leading the way (despite ya know, just playing in the Finals).

Once he became a Laker, he magically looked to be in slightly better shape which was pretty funny, but that was only the beginning. 

Do people remember young skinny Luka, who was dunking all over the place when he first got into the NBA? 

Advertisement

Baby Luka had 25 dunks as a rookie. Compare that to his one (1) last year, and I think it's safe to say there was a bit of an adjustment in that department over the years. If you're telling me we're getting a trimmed-down Luka with an even better vertical? I'm intrigued. 

And even as a blue-blood lifelong Lakers hater that wishes nothing but the worst for them in every aspect of basketball, even I can't help but laugh at this whole thing. To go from the Mavs trading a franchise star and calling him fat to anyone who would listen to that same player now being on the cover of Men's Health for being in incredible shape is very funny to me. Then again, does this prove Nico Harrison was right? I mean, we can't celebrate how in shape Luka now appears to be in, without acknowledging that he was very much not in shape before all this happened. Why he couldn't do this as a Mav is anyone's guess, and as a Mavs fan, it would be pretty annoying that the Lakers get to have this version of Doncic, whereas if he did this after the Finals in 2024, the trade probably never even happens.

While I'm sure some will roll their eyes at this and chalk it up to the latest form of Lakers' propaganda, what I will say is that I at least give Luka credit for putting in the work. I have no choice but to respect a player who very clearly saw and heard about a flaw in his game and then accepted the responsibility of fixing it. It's not like he "has" to do stuff like this, given it's pretty obvious Luka is one of the best in the world no matter what shape he's in, but it's one thing to talk the talk, and it's another to actually go out and walk the walk. He deserves credit for that.

Now, having said all that, while it's great to see that Luka is in better shape, in my opinion, none of it really matters if he's still not going to give a shit on defense. Was his defensive intensity and effort a result of his conditioning and how in shape he was, or was it just his overall mentality when it comes to that end of the floor? Being in better shape should help, but you still have to give a shit on the defensive end for any of it to matter, and so far it's not a stretch to suggest that Luka Doncic does not really give a shit about defense. His quit factor has been VERY high on that end of the floor, especially on the perimeter. To me, that's going to be the biggest thing we're going to find out when it comes to this new look Luka, because the Lakers' perimeter defense sure does need him to be a passable defender. Marcus Smart can only do so much (sigh). 

Given how brutal the entire Western Conference is heading into the 2025-26 season, something like this from Luka was necessary. He's now the future of the Lakers with LeBron already having one foot out the door, and while we have no idea how that era will look, it doesn't hurt to have your star finally appearing to take his body and conditioning seriously. Will it translate to wins? That's what we're about to find out.