Lakers' Luka Doncic Reveals to Slovenian Media What Was 'Hard' About Weight Loss

It's a pretty nifty narrative. Lakers star Luka Doncic was traded by the team that drafted him, the Mavericks, back in February, and soon after, word leaks out as to why Dallas decided to send away Doncic, the superstar who had led them to the NBA Finals just a year earlier. The reason was no secret: The Mavericks were worried about Doncic's weight and conditioning and whether he could stay healthy, long-term.

So what does Doncic do? Within six months of the trade, he is on the cover of Men's Health magazine, svelte and strong, appearing to be in the best shape of his life. The accompanying article insists that yes, Doncic is in the best shape of his life.

And that's the narrative--the Mavs traded him to the Lakers because Doncic was too out of shape, and he used that to fuel himself into this new version of Skinny Luka, as the ultimate way to retaliate against the Mavericks. There's more to it, though.

Lakers Eliminated, Attention Shifted

After the Lakers were surprisingly eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, Doncic decided to take time away from basketball and get right to getting into better shape.

That took some getting used to, but Doncic made the adjustment.

"I know how much basketball means to me. It has given me a lot in my life," Doncic told reporters per Slovenia's Svet24. "But I also like to play other sports. The first three or four days were hard for me without basketball, but then I just got used to it."

He admitted, though, that the training program he adopted this season was harder than ones he'd had in the past. Doncic was asked what was difficult about it.

"At first, basically everything, but it's a matter of habit. After I got used to it, nothing was particularly difficult," he said.