Slovenia got a major upset in the quarter finals at EuroBasket after they lost to FIBA World Cup champions Germany 91-99. It is an upset because, despite Germany being the champions, Luka Doncic was playing like the best player of the tournament and looked like a favorite to win it all with his national team. However, the world champions had other plans.
Following the game, Franz Wagner, who plays for the Orlando Magic in the NBA, spoke about how Luka Doncic’s body transformation impacted his game. Considering that Wagner faced him before and after his transformations, he was in a unique position to compare Doncic’s games. And he agreed with Doncic that his game was the same before and after his body transformation.
“He’s like that all the time. So, I see no difference, really. Extremely good player, if he got a little bit better, which he might have, it’s tough to tell with him.”
Doncic dropped 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in the game, the most points ever scored at an EuroBasket quarter final. But it was not enough to beat the FIBA World champions.
He ended the tournament averaging 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game while also taking 14.0 free-throw attempts per game. Doncic shot 45.8% from the field and 32.1% from the three-point range in this tournament.
While leading the tournament in three out of four major categories during the group stages, Doncic’s defensive effort looked very different from what it is criticized for being in the NBA. Yet, somehow, even Doncic insisted that his playing style was the same before his body transformation.
Doncic’s fitness came into question long before he was traded from the Mavericks. But it came into the limelight when the Mavericks pointed at that as one of the reasons he was unexpectedly traded to the Lakers.
Months after being traded in February, Doncic worked hard on his body and lost approximately 30 to 35 lbs, bringing his weight to approximately 230 lbs. Some believed that Doncic let the trade become a chip on his shoulder against the Mavericks to fuel this transformation, but Doncic claimed he was planning this change before he was traded.
Doncic embraced the role of a true leader with Slovenia at EuroBasket this year. He was seen on multiple occasions motivating his teammates and leading by example on the floor with this performance.
While Germany proceeded to the semi-finals to face Finland, the next time we will see Doncic playing basketball is for the Lakers during the preseason games in October. Some sources inside the Lakers have also revealed that LeBron James inspired Doncic’s body transformation.
If Doncic plays for the next few seasons with the same focus as LeBron James, do you think he is ready to take the Lakers’ baton from LeBron James and lead them to a championship? In my opinion, with the right pieces, yes, he can.
