Luka Doncic has shown improvement in conditioning since his trade to the LA Lakers, but getting in better shape and fully healthy should be a top priority this summer.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 30 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' dominant 126–99 win over the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. OKC boasts the NBA's top-ranked defense, but Luka sliced through them with ease.
Luka Doncic
| Team: |
Los Angeles Lakers |
| Position: | PG, SG |
| Age: | 26 |
| Height: | 201 cm |
| Weight: | 104 kg |
| Birth place: | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
Still, his shape and conditioning remain constant topics of discussion, whether among fans or experts. When the LA Lakers lose and Doncic has an off night, critics are quick to point to his conditioning. But when the Lakers win and he plays well, the conversation often shifts to whether we're seeing the best version of Luka yet.
Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha of The Athletic has taken note of this pattern.
"I think with him [Luka], it's kind of like Jokic," Buha noted on his latest podcast. "Is he in tip-top shape for his standards or for NBA player standards? Not necessarily. Is this the best shape he's been in, and is this the best shape he's been in this season? Probably not on either one of those fronts.
"With Luka, when he doesn't look good, when he has a bad game, it becomes like, 'Oh, he's out of shape.' I do see the discourse, and it becomes when the Lakers lose or when he doesn't have a good game," Buha added. "When he cooks OKC, the best defense in the league, with multiple all-defensive team candidates, 'OK, well, that's playoffs Luka.'"
Still, there's a consensus that Doncic can reach another level.
"I think he could be in better shape," Buha mentioned. "I think it should be his primary focus this summer. Whenever that summer comes, get acclimated in LA, find permanent residence, just spend time with family, and then get in better shape, get healthier, and go into next year ready to win his first MVP and potentially his first championship or maybe defend his first championship.
"I think he's in much better shape in conditioning that he was at the time of the trade and when he first made his Lakers debut," the insider added. "There have been some times when he's looked in worse shape.
"I'm not saying that's not the case at all. ... It sometimes feels like people are cherry-picking the conditioning just to kind of hammer him."
Since arriving in Los Angeles from the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic has averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists over 25 games.
Dallas reportedly had growing concerns about Luka's conditioning, which contributed to the blockbuster trade that brought Anthony Davis to the Mavs in early February.
Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont had even made a pointed remark, citing legends like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Shaquille O'Neal as models of work ethic and focus—implying Doncic didn't measure up in that regard.
