Luka Doncic needs to transform himself the way Shaq once did

USA Today

04-05-2025

Luka Doncic needs to transform himself the way Shaq once did
After landing one of the greatest talents of his generation, the Los Angeles Lakers were instantly expected to become championship contenders again after being in purgatory for quite a while. It had been five years since they last reached the NBA Finals, but his arrival gave fans a sense of hope and excitement that they hadn't possessed in a while.
Their new superstar had recently reached the finals with his previous team, and expectations were high right away. But the Lakers fell well short of expectations and lost early in the playoffs, four games to one, to a veteran team that manhandled them in the physicality department and greatly outplayed them in crunch time.
People started to doubt that superstar. They said he was fat and lazy, not to mention emotionally immature, and that he lacked the dedication needed to win an NBA championship.
Was it Luka Doncic? No, it was Shaquille O'Neal, the Hall of Famer who joined the Lakers in the great free agent acquisition of 1996.
O'Neal had already established himself as a unicorn in four previous seasons with the Orlando Magic. But despite having a strong cast around him in L.A., the Lakers collapsed in the playoffs in each of his first three seasons with them.
It led many to blast O'Neal for not taking care of his body while accusing him of caring more about making rap albums and critically panned movies such as "Kazaam" than he did about basketball.
But in 1999, O'Neal got with the program and transformed himself by showing more dedication to his craft. As a result, he immediately won three straight world titles and went from a great player to a legendary one.
O'Neal had just completed his seventh pro season, just as Doncic has. Thus, Doncic is at a similar inflection point right now after losing in last year's NBA Finals and getting bounced in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year's playoffs.
How O'Neal went from a pretender to a champion
In 1999, Phil Jackson, who had coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles, became the Lakers' head coach. He had transformed Michael Jordan from an individual, self-focused superstar into arguably the greatest player ever, and O'Neal was eager to learn the secrets of true greatness from him.
Jeff Pearlman, the author who wrote an excellent book on those Lakers teams entitled "Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the crazy years of the Lakers dynasty," recounted the moment that started O'Neal's transformation shortly after Jackson was hired.
Via HoopsHype:
"No one was more euphoric than O'Neal, whose first seven years in the NBA were spent under five different head coaches – none of much note. Jackson and his new center chatted via phone shortly after the press conference but didn't meet until several weeks later. That was when O'Neal, visiting Kalispell, Montana, for a concert to promote his fourth studio album, Respect, decided to take the 10-mile drive to Jackson's home in Flathead Lake.
"... When Jackson arrived, he was greeted by O'Neal gazing at the championship trophies. It was a scene out of a corny sports movie – the glory-deprived star staring longingly at a pane of glass as the sunlight's reflection creates a holy glow. 'You know,' Jackson said, 'you can get one of those if you listen to me.'
"'I believe you,' O'Neal replied."
Jackson, who is known for indirectly sending messages to his players, instantly sent one to O'Neal and let him know what achieving true glory would take.
"'But before we start,' Jackson said, 'I could use your help with something.'
"'Okay, Coach,' O'Neal said. 'Name it.'
"He walked his new center toward the edge of his property, which ran adjacent to a lake. An enormous fallen tree was lying along the shore, and Jackson needed it relocated. He tied a rope around one end and attached the other end to his boat. 'He's there pulling it with the boat,' O'Neal re-called, 'and I'm pushing the tree.'
"Jackson told O'Neal to hang on to the tree, so he did – as the boat kept going and going. It distanced itself from the shore – 'and then I had to swim back from this damn island,' O'Neal recalled. 'It was far – I don't know how far, but it was far. And you know what I'm thinking? This man is challenging me.'"
Indeed, Jackson challenged O'Neal to get into better shape than he had been in.
"Later on, Jackson looked over the 350-pound goliath standing before him. Frustrated by one lost season after another, O'Neal spent the summer lifting weights, watching what he ate, ingesting creatine and other supplements.
"'I was huge,' he said. 'Solid bulk.'
"'How much you weigh?' Jackson asked.
"I don't know,' O'Neal replied.
"'I want you to lose about 15 pounds,' Jackson said. 'The bigger you are, the harder it's gonna be on your knees, and I want you playing 40 minutes a game.'
"'Okay,' O'Neal replied.
"With that, Shaquille O'Neal departed the property and, soon enough, found himself back in Los Angeles, trying to shed the weight and prepare for what he believed would be the season of his life.
"He would not regret it."
O'Neal would average 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocks a game that season and win his first and only league MVP award. He had previously treated defense almost the way high school students treat homework, but he was a consistent force on that end all season long, and he anchored a Lakers team defense that was the best in the land.
Considering the way NBA basketball was played back then — most teams walked the ball upcourt and played as slowly as possible on every possession with minimal ball and player movement — it was likely the greatest individual season any man has ever had in basketball history.
With help from an emerging superstar guard named Kobe Bryant, O'Neal led the Lakers to the first of three straight world championships that season. The man who had been lambasted as someone who had never won a big game and would never get over the hump was now considered basketball royalty.
That is the type of greatness that could lie ahead for Doncic if he decides to totally dedicate himself to his craft. Multiple MVP awards, NBA championships and finals MVP awards, not to mention his No. 77 jersey hanging on the wall of Crypto.com Arena, are things he can achieve if he starts to work hard and work smart like O'Neal did in the summer of 1999.
He has — at least for now — his co-superstar in LeBron James, just as O'Neal did in Bryant. He and James could have a much better supporting cast when the team reconvenes for training camp at the end of this summer. They could very well have a good enough head coach in JJ Redick — no, he isn't Jackson or Pat Riley, but he did better than many expected as a rookie head coach this season.
Doncic may be skilled enough and smart enough to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the free throw line for at least one full season if he puts his mind to it. He doesn't have to become an outstanding defender, but if he gets into better shape and drops some weight — as O'Neal did going into his MVP season — he can at least be a neutral one-on-one defender, which may be good enough considering how incredible he is on the other end of the court.
He seems to have at least some of that "Mamba Mentality" when it comes to making plays in crunch time and gutting it out while dealing with injuries. Now the Lakers need him to take things to the next level.
If he does, he will be eternally grateful he did once it's all said and done.