Luka Doncic comments on his physical transformation this summer

USA Today

29-07-2025

We're not even halfway through the summer or the NBA offseason, and yet Luka Doncic is looking like a new man already.
Many have commented on some photos and videos of him that have surfaced in which he looks a lot fitter and trimmer than he had looked in the recent past. Doncic has been criticized for his lack of fitness and conditioning, especially after the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, and it looks like he has taken that negative feedback to heart.
He has reportedly stuck to a disciplined workout and diet regimen that he began right after the Lakers were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. Men's Health magazine featured a couple of pieces on Monday that detailed Doncic's health and fitness program, and in one of those pieces, he commented on what has taken place.
'Just visually, I would say my whole body looks better,' he says.
Doncic is visually trim and defined these days, and yet some may still be skeptical that he has truly changed his ways. It isn't easy to stick to a stringent diet during the long NBA season, especially given the limited meal options during the league's killer travel schedule when players may have to subsist on fast food and room service.
But he also hinted that this is just the beginning of a fitter and trimmer version of himself.
'If I stop now,' Dončić says of his effort to rebuild his body, 'it was all for nothing.'
The Slovenian has never been known for his athleticism, at least in a classic sense. But during his first one or two seasons in the NBA, he was quicker and more explosive than he has been in recent seasons. He now feels that at least one facet of his athletic ability has improved.
'This year, we didn't measure the jumping yet,' he says. 'But I think it's a little bit higher.'
Some reports have claimed that Doncic clocked in with a 42-inch vertical leap during the 2018 scouting combine. Those reports were erroneous — Doncic wasn't even in attendance at the NBA's scouting combine that year.
But as long as he keeps up his new fitness and conditioning program — and from all his comments, that is clearly his long-term plan — he could become a huge nightmare for the rest of the NBA. Perhaps no one has seen the best of Doncic yet, despite his career averages of 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game.