Latest news with #Luka
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Kendrick Perkins is picking 'skinny Luka' Doncic to win NBA MVP
Many are talking about the new, leaner and fitter version of Luka Doncic that has emerged this offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has gotten on a stringent diet and workout plan, and based on photos and videos that have surfaced, his body has been transformed. Gone is the layer of blubber that enveloped his body over the last few years and hindered his efforts to get back on defense and stay in front of his man on that end of the floor. Now, his muscles are defined, and it is exciting news for Lakers fans and a nightmare in the making for the rest of the NBA. ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins gave Doncic credit for transforming his body and taking all the criticism the superstar has received to heart. 'Luka and the Los Angeles Lakers, they broke through the internet today because they're one,' Perkins said. 'They're one now. You see them? We ain't looking at the chubby, fat Luka, the beer-sipping Luka. We ain't looking at medium Luka. We looking at skinny Luka. I saw his jawline. I saw veins popping out of his ears. The man is in shape. and it's going to be a problem this year for the rest of the league.' In fact, Perkins proclaimed that the 6-foot-7 guard is his "early pick for MVP." 'The man is skinny,' Perkins added. 'By the way, he is my early pick for MVP. If we saw what we were getting out of Chubby Luka, imagine what we about to get out of damn skinny Luka. We about to get the best version of Luka Doncic.' It remains to be seen if the Lakers will win enough games for Doncic to have a real shot at the league MVP award, an award he hasn't won. But his quality of play and performance will be the most important thing. He already has career averages of 28.6 points on 46.8% field-goal shooting and 35% 3-point shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game. If he was able to do that while fat, out of shape and banged up, it is scary to imagine how much better and more refined he could be while in terrific shape. His shooting efficiency and free throw shooting have lots of room for improvement, as does his ball security, and he can play better man-to-man defense. Improving in those areas would help the Lakers get closer to championship contention.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luka Doncic Once Dropped 24 Points In 3 Minutes During Practice; Mavs Assistant GM Revealed More On The Incident
Luka Doncic Once Dropped 24 Points In 3 Minutes During Practice; Mavs Assistant GM Revealed More On The Incident originally appeared on Fadeaway World. Luka Doncic is widely regarded as one of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA today. Considering how effective he is during official matches, there is enough evidence to suggest that he would dominate during team practice as well. In a recent podcast, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving attested to Doncic's dominance during practice sessions and recalled a story involving the superstar on a recent livestream. He said: "He's giving you probably like 60, 18, and 18. I witnessed him give somebody 24 points in three minutes." As impressive as this story is, Irving didn't reveal who was guarding Doncic. However, a sound bite provided by Mavs assistant GM Michael Finley gave more context to the story. "So one day in practice," recalled Finley. "A player in our team, I won't call his name out, but it was Grant Williams, who decided he wanted to get under Luka's skin. He thought Luka didn't come that day ready to practice." "To make a long story short, we had a scrimmage going, and he's talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says, 'Okay.' And I tell you, Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody. I'm not exaggerating." Finley continued by painting a picture of how Doncic showed Williams the sheer expanse of his offensive arsenal, and to top things off, he wasn't even talking back. With guests in attendance at the practice, Doncic chose to put on a show. In light of what the 26-year-old superstar achieved during his short career with the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs made a mistake in trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers. Although they acquired a generational two-way big man in Anthony Davis in return, replacing a talent like Doncic is virtually impossible. Nevertheless, with half a season under their belts, both Doncic and the Mavs have moved on from the decision. As the 26-year-old superstar continues his offseason conditioning to get in shape for the upcoming season, Dallas charts out the next steps forward. Having acquired an immensely gifted young forward in Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, the Mavericks will look to nurture and mold him into their franchise cornerstone. The next season presents an interesting outlook for the Mavericks. While they have a solid roster in place, they will be shorthanded heading into the campaign. With Irving expected to miss a significant amount of time due to delays in injury recovery, the team could face some struggles. But if Davis' health holds up and Flagg shows positive growth through the season, the Mavs could still be a competitive team in the story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 NBA Odds: Lakers, Dončić Odds Shorten After Magazine Cover Reveal
Both Luka Dončić's weight and the Lakers' title odds are on the move. Dončić is the cover athlete in the latest edition of Men's Health Magazine, and since he revealed his svelte, new physique, the star's MVP odds have also moved up the board. Currently, the Lakers' championship futures are +1400 at DraftKings Sportsbook, moving from +1600 just two weeks ago. On July 17 at DraftKings, Dončić was sitting fourth at +800 to win the league's most coveted individual honor. Now, he's third at +650, behind Nikola Jokić (+250) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+250), and moving ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700). Let's check out some of the other Lakers and Dončić odds at DraftKings as of July 29. Dončić Clutch Player of the Year +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total) Dončić Western Conference Finals MVP +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total) Dončić Finals MVP +2000 (bet +2000 to win $210 total) Lakers Win Western Conference +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total) Lakers No. 1 Seed Western Conference +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total) JJ Redick Coach of the Year +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total) Will Dončić's slimmed-down frame be worth its weight in gold when it comes to boosting the Lakers' chances at winning it all next year? At least one expert thinks so. "I think he looked at LeBron and said this guy is naturally gifted … I want to get there," co-host Chris Broussard said on "First Things First" about Dončić's physical transformation. "If he does come back looking like he did in that magazine in that kind of shape, the Lakers are a real threat," Broussard added. "Luka is great period. Luka was great last year — overweight, coming off injury, sad … and not playing defense. "If he's in this kind of shape … I just think they have enough, and they have a legitimate chance." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Luka Dončić's revenge muscles, plus Nikola Jokić's horse celebration
The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. Chances are, if we have an in-person basketball conversation, I will steer it toward Ricky Davis, Jamal Crawford or Ronald 'Flip' Murray at some point. Today is Flip's 46th birthday. He was a walking bucket. There is a dearth of career highlight mixes on YouTube for him, but let this be a great entry to a fun rabbit hole. Happy birthday, Flip! Luka got shredded, LeBron is masterminding It would make sense if, after two-plus decades of LeBron James being a main figure (or the main figure) in NBA discourse (whether genuine or forced for ratings/clicks), one might be a little LeBron'd out at this point. At the same time, I find my LeBron fascination rejuvenated because of the awkwardness we see between him and the Lakers. James is entering his 23rd year in the NBA, and the Lakers have moved on to the Luka Dončić era after trading for the latter last season. The 26-year-old superstar gives the franchise a massive runway to work with, while the 40-year-old superstar is trying to figure out how to position himself to finish his career. And it doesn't seem like that will be with the Lakers, based on this offseason so far. Advertisement The Lakers seemingly ended up with Luka because Mavericks executive Nico Harrison did not believe Luka was committed to being in the proper shape to fit into the exec's ideal basketball identity. Following a nagging calf injury and perhaps deciding to jump in the gym with extra care for a little 'revenge body' glow-up (we've all been there after a breakup), Dončić now finds himself looking completely shredded and muscular on the cover of Men's Health magazine. Yup, that's Luka Dončić on the cover of Men's Health Mag 👀 [image or embed] — The Athletic (@ July 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM Normally, the 'best shape of his career' stuff is just preseason fodder and entirely laughable. But I'll fully admit this shot of Luka not only made me do a double take, it made me drop to the ground and ran off 25 straight push-ups. (Then that was it. I figured that's enough to be in shape without committing myself in any other way.) Luka's new muscle definition could further demonstrate what a disaster Harrison's move was. Mavericks fans probably went through the anger of the trade all over again, when this cover hit social media this week. It shows Luka's dedication to either being in proper shape to win a title or to pettiness to damn Nico forever — or maybe both! Regardless, Luka is the now and the future for the Lakers, assuming he extends his contract once he's eligible next month. And LeBron is someone making one-third of the salary while helping make this team good enough to be a playoff squad in the vaunted West, but not good enough to be a real title contender. That is, unless Deandre Ayton decides to dedicate himself in a manner we haven't really seen in his seven years so far. It's no surprise that LeBron might be looking for one last hurrah, and we know that James has a penchant for garnering attention when it feels like he won't be the story anymore. We've seen injuries pop up after he's been eliminated, as we find out he was playing through them. We've seen him flirt with the dot-connectors by throwing out something cryptic for the internet to decode. Or maybe, in this case, someone decided to do it for him. Misko Raznatovic posted a picture of himself, LeBron and longtime James friend and business partner Maverick Carter enjoying the boating life in Saint Tropez, France. The caption? Advertisement 'The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026!' He tagged LeBron and Mav in the pic. You're likely asking yourself, 'Who cares? Who is this Misko fellow anyway?' He just happens to be Nikola Jokić's agent. Hey, guess who is going to be a free agent in 2026? LeBron! That's when his current deal that pays him $52.6 million is over. Film noir! What a twist! As my friend Aaron perfectly stated about LeBron: 'He is the loudest at going quiet.' While so many are LeBron'd out at this point, watching how he chooses to finish the story of his career will be as fascinating as anything he's done since returning to Cleveland in 2014. If not more. The newly shredded Luka is the Lakers' focus, and rightfully so. How LeBron turns the league focus back to himself despite not being the focus of his own team is going to be a 4D chess-type of situation. Only one team better than Knicks? 🏀 Fresh start. Damian Lillard has returned to Portland. He sounds like a new man. 💰 New deal. The Bulls just agreed to a contract extension with coach Billy Donovan. He's 195-205 with one playoff win in five seasons there. 📈 Power Rankings! The league has shifted a bit this offseason. Are the Knicks the second-best team in the NBA? 🏀 Size matters. The Mavs are banking on their size to dominate opponents. Can a two-big lineup fuel them? 🎧 'NBA Daily.' Zena and Es are joined by Mike Vorkunov to discuss expansions, relocations and NBA Europe. YouTube here. Caring more about horse races than NBA titles Speaking of Jokić, one of the funnier running jokes on the internet is about how much the four-time MVP (counting the Finals MVP) seems to be bothered by his day job. To be clear, I firmly believe Jokić loves basketball. I do not believe you can become that historically great at this sport without having a passion to fuel your work. However, I question whether he likes/enjoys the NBA itself. So much of the pomp and circumstance of the NBA just doesn't seem to vibe with what he appears to be about, from the outside looking in. We know Jokić does have passions outside of basketball, though. It's been known for years how much Jokić obsesses over, invests in and enjoys horse racing. Over the weekend, Jokić made more internet memes/headlines by celebrating one of his horses winning a race in his home country of Serbia. Video showed Jokić being elated and emotional after the win. He enthusiastically popped a massive champagne bottle, sprayed his team, sprayed the horse a little and dumped the rest on himself. You can see how excited he is in the moment he pops the bottle and starts spraying. You can watch the entire emotional reaction from Jokić here. Now juxtapose that enthusiastic celebration with how Jokić celebrated the Nuggets winning the championship in 2023. Look at how he popped the bottle in the locker room, and didn't appear to even really go through the motions of spraying that champagne on his teammates: The difference between two years and two different celebrations is stark, to say the least. Remember: When asked about winning the 2023 NBA championship, immediately after securing it, Jokić's response was, 'The job is done. We can go home now.' He was perturbed that the championship parade was days away because he wanted to go back to Serbia. Jokić embodied the 'accidentally became important at work and it's ruining my life' meme. It's just good to see the big fella enjoy stuff outside of work. He has like two more months before he has to clock in again. Who is signing Giddey and Kuminga? Most everything from this NBA offseason has been resolved, unless we have a massive trade that's going to slap us in the face and challenge us to a duel out of nowhere. Aside from figuring out where Russell Westbrook might end up, we're basically just waiting to see how the big restricted free agents are going to resolve their contract negotiations. The big restricted guys left are Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Cam Thomas and Quentin Grimes. Advertisement At this point, nobody really expects these players to end up in new places. Maybe Kuminga can find his way out of Golden State? There just aren't a lot of avenues this summer for that. Thomas has been pretty outspoken about how he's viewed the negotiation process, fair or unfair. The perception is the perception. Some people value him, and some people don't. Such is life in the NBA. Grimes is someone everybody expects Philadelphia to re-sign in some manner. We just don't know if some of these players will take the risk and accept the one-year qualifying offer to bet on themselves for unrestricted free agency in 2026. Or will they accept a longer-term deal to ensure financial stability? Kuminga might be the most intriguing situation with that potential approach. Fred Katz polled 16 rival front office people, and the average annual take-home salary for Kuminga was $20.4 million. The majority of the contract lengths for Kuminga would be three years. Kuminga appears to be wanting a four-year deal, roughly in the $25 million annual zone — and more importantly, off the Warriors, to explore expanding his role elsewhere. Kuminga and coach Steve Kerr haven't exactly meshed. In another poll of front office personnel, Giddey's prospects were seen as something you'd rather invest in. His annual average was roughly $22.3 million. But 10 of the 16 executives polled said he should get a four- or five-year deal. Giddey had the best season of his young career, putting up 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. But the career bests in 3-point percentage (37.8, previously 33.7) and true shooting percentage (57.0, previously 54.7) show why the intrigue and trust might be there more. Regardless, it feels like Giddey will eventually get his commitment from the Bulls, while we're not sure what is in store for Kuminga, Thomas and Grimes for long-term money or place of business. Maybe the qualifying-offer gamble ($7.9M for Kuminga, $6M for Thomas, $8.7M for Grimes) is worth the risk after all? Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. ( Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Doncic started doing two-a-day workouts after Lakers lost in 2025 NBA Playoffs
For months and perhaps years, Luka Doncic has been criticized for his lack of fitness and conditioning. A good amount of that criticism seemed to come from the Dallas Mavericks after they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, perhaps as their attempt to justify what most considered a brain-dead trade. But by all accounts, ever since the Lakers lost in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Doncic has been working hard to get into the best shape he has been in since early in his career. He looks noticeably slimmer this summer, and according to one report, he has been "incredibly committed to his conditioning" while adopting a strict diet. Javier Barrio, a physiotherapist, told Men's Health magazine that Doncic started doing two workouts a day with trainer Anze Macek right after the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers, and that he wanted to start transforming his body right then and there. "His goal this year?" wrote Andrew Heffernan. "Come into his first full season as a Laker in the best shape of his life. In three months. "No big deal. "Macek took charge of the workouts—except Sundays, Dončić hit two per day, with plenty of lifting, mobility, and court drills. But fueling the 6'7' point guard as he underwent this Rocky-style transformation may have been an even tougher job: a chemistry experiment where all the elements not only had to fulfill a specific function, but also taste great and make sense to Luka as he learned the ropes of performance nutrition. 'He's 26, and it's a learning process,' says Barrio. "It helped that their client was motivated. Luka's final game with the Lakers was April 30th; days later he was on the plane to his native Slovenia. 'He arrived May fifth, and said, I want to start immediately,' recalls Barrio. And he did: right around the time you'd forgive a pro athlete for kicking back with pizza and a few beers, Luka went low-carb." Doncic reportedly had a habit of enjoying his beer and hookah over the years. But he has apparently accepted a more balanced diet and health regimen, especially after all the playoff losses he has endured through seven NBA seasons. It was just one calendar year ago that Doncic and the Mavericks lost in the championship series to the Boston Celtics, which made it clear that he wasn't well-conditioned enough to take home basketball's grand prize. The criticism hit a crescendo when the Lakers fell flat on their faces in the playoffs a few months ago, and it seemed to culminate with coach JJ Redick telling the media that the team needed to get into "championship shape." Most interpreted that comment as being directed squarely at Doncic, even though Redick never mentioned Doncic by name when making the comment. But the Slovenian superstar is apparently doing his part, and it could mean lots of trouble for the rest of the league.
