After getting NBA fans buzzing with his new slimmed-down physique, Luka Dončić has opened up about being criticized for being out of shape despite being a perennial All-Star.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard was asked by Craig Melvin on TODAY on July 30 whether his noticeable weight loss this summer is a reaction to outside noise about his body from NBA fans and critics.
“Obviously, I try to not read much, just try to focus,” he said. “I think I was still a pretty good basketball player back then, no matter what people say.”
The 26-year-old Slovenian superstar has a point, considering Dončić is a five-time All-NBA selection and led his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, to an NBA Finals appearance, all by the time he was only 25 years old.
He sees the changes to his eating habits and workout regimen as part of his evolution as an NBA star.
“I think it was the next step in my career,” Dončić said on TODAY. “At the end, I’m still 26, I got a long way to go, so that was a good step in my career.”
Dončić, who was listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds last season, showed off his fit appearance in a cover story for Men’s Health, published on July 28, in which he appeared thinner than when he played for the Lakers last season. The Lakers star and his trainers detailed to Men’s Health how he changed his diet and workout routine to slim down in only three months.
“I would say me and my team just tried some new things,” Dončić told TODAY. “Different food, different practices.”
He also said he did not take any weight-loss drugs.
Dončić, who was a basketball prodigy in Europe before being drafted by the Mavericks in 2018, shared he took a break from the sport for a time.
“I actually gave up playing basketball for one month, which I never did in my life, so it was kind of challenging, but it was good,” he said. “Mentally, basketball I’ve been playing my whole life, so I won’t forget how to play basketball in one month, so we tried other sports. I think it was a good thing.”
Luka Dončić was introduced as the newest star of the Los Angeles Lakers, saying the trade from the Dallas Mavericks was a shock, but he has “everything to prove” as a member of the Lakers.
Dončić joined the Lakers in one of the most stunning trades in NBA history this past season. ESPN reported at the time that the Mavericks had “major concerns” about Dončić’s “constant conditioning issues.”
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison denied reports that Dončić’s conditioning and work ethic were a factor in the trade while speaking at a press conference in April.
“Luka is an extremely talented player, as we all know,” Harrison said, according to The Athletic. “We’ve all seen he’s probably dropped the most points when maybe he’s not in the best conditioning. So, he can do that, that’s not an issue. When you make a trade like this, you have to really look at it in its totality.”
The Los Angeles Lakers have traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic, according to reports.
Dončić responded to the reports in an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
“It’s just sad the way he’s talking right now,” he said about Harrison. “I never say anything bad about him, and I just want to move on. The fans, my ex-teammates, I’ll always keep at heart. It’s time for me to move on from there.”
His physical transformation is part of a big summer for Dončić, who is eligible to sign a long-term contract with the Lakers on Aug. 2 that could be worth more than $200 million. He declined to comment when asked about it on TODAY, saying NBA rules prohibit him from speaking about it ahead of the decision.
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