The Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has entered his first full season with the team.
However, the start of the season has not been ideal, as they’ve started the season 0-1 and are without future Hall of Famer LeBron James.
James will miss the first few weeks of the campaign as he continues to deal with sciatica. Doncic’s role is that much more important as he appears to be slowly turning into the franchise point guard for the purple and gold.
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One of the major points of this offseason discussed by the greater basketball world is the kind of shape Doncic has been in.
This was an area that was highly criticized while a member of the Dallas Mavericks, but Doncic has put in work this summer to put on muscle and looks visibly more slender. Former Dallas teammate Boban Marjanovic recently spoke on ESPN’s “NBA Today” to note that what he is seeing isn’t just improvement, but the best shape of his life.
“For me, he always was athletic, just depends how tired he is,” Marjanovic said. “Sometimes he’s tired, sometimes he’s less tired. But he play every game. He have the ball 40 minutes and it’s all offense on him, what is really good, but he for sure is best shape right now.”
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Doncic spoke earlier this offseason about what his journey has been like on his road to getting into better shape in an exclusive Men’s Health piece regarding his transformation.
“Especially in the NBA, you travel almost all the time,” Doncic said. “You’re never home. And for me, you know, after the season, going back home, it’s a big thing, you know. I see my friends, my family, I see everybody. So it’s not easy for sure.
“When I came to the NBA, I was 18,” Doncic said. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect those first four or five years. Then I said, ‘I need to do this.’”
The complete transformation he did is certainly commendable, but it must be matched with on-court results this season.
Last season ended far too early for LA, and despite Doncic averaging 30.2 points, seven rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in their first round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the stakes are undoubtably higher going into the 2025-26 campaign.
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