Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has always been criticized for his conditioning since he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. However, it never affected how he played, even posting MVP-like numbers in his young seven-year NBA career. No one thought that it would be the reason for the Mavericks to give up on him and shock the entire league when he was traded last season.
Conditioning was one of the reasons Dallas thought it was time to move on from him and trade him for Anthony Davis. Although he would occasionally gain weight during the offseason, Doncic would still produce incredible numbers in the regular season. Also, his playoff performances were top-notch.
This summer, Doncic paid extra attention to his body and conditioning. He began a careful and healthy diet, even gracing the cover of the Men’s Health magazine.
On Monday, he was with sports analyst Patrick McAfee during a broadcast of Monday’s game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. McAfee bragged about Doncic’s body transformation and joked that the NBA star should mail the Mavericks a copy of the current Men’s Health magazine.
The Los Angeles Lakers star clapped back, throwing shade at the Dallas organization.
“They probably saw it. I don’t have to worry about that,” Doncic said.
Luka got jokes on whether Dallas saw his body transformation:
"They probably saw it. I don't have to worry about that"pic.twitter.com/rxqHquTaNk
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) July 29, 2025
Doncic is looking ready to be the face of the Lakers. In the recent edition of the magazine, he talked about his health journey this summer.
In the recent issue of the magazine, the Los Angeles Lakers star revealed that he started to commit to a gluten-free and low-sugar diet.
“What the Luka haters have never seen is this: Dončić slogging through two-a-days in Croatia while sticking to a gluten-free, low-sugar diet that includes at least 250 grams of protein and one almond milk–fueled shake a day. They never knew that Dončić had quietly constructed a fitness team several years ago to help enhance his (very dangerous) natural gifts. And they never realized how much he committed to training and diet this summer,” Andrew Heffernan and Ebenezer Samuel wrote.
Doncic also doubled down on his dedication to sticking to his new diet.
“If I stop now, it was all for nothing,” the five-time All-Star said.
When the Lakers’ season ended, Doncic devoted his time and effort to train. The five-time All-NBA ended his season with only 50 games played, which motivated him to do better.
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