For years, Luka Doncic had been criticized for being chubby, off form and missing conditioning. However it appears to be like like these days are over.
Final summer time, he d on the quilt of Males's Well being journal after dropping additional weight and stepping into significantly better form. He put collectively an MVP-caliber marketing campaign final season throughout which he led the NBA in scoring for the second time, and this summer time, he once more e in excellent form as the brand new season neared.
Within the s' first preseason sport of 2026 on Monday, Doncic performed 16 minutes and scored 21 factors. Whereas he regarded a bit rusty early, he began to search out his capturing rhythm and regarded strong within the workforce's 127-103 win over the s.
Coach JJ Redick d about how match Doncic taken care of not taking part in a lot basketball this offseason.
"He's nice bodily. The man labored his butt off all summer time on staying in form and truly ran this summer time. He truly did like sprints and stuff. Got here into camp in unbelievable form."
Doncic turned down the chance to play for his native Slovenia this summer time, which allowed him to get some additional relaxation after the Lakers had been swept within the second spherical of the 2026 NBA Playoffs by the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. He mentioned after Monday's sport that he felt "most likely somewhat extra rested" because of this.
The 27-year-old suffered a season-ending hamstring pressure on April 2 that pressured him to sit down out the postseason. He allowed the damage to totally heal, and he's now poised for an additional monster season with a deeper, extra balanced forged round him.
This text initially appeared on Lakers Wire: s
