Luka Doncic’s offseason weight loss has been widely praised, but ESPN’s Tim McMahon is not sold on the narrative. According to the Mavericks insider, the sudden celebration of Doncic’s transformation is raising more questions than answers, and for Dallas, it only confirms what they already knew.
“Luka didn’t have to be in shape to prove the Mavericks made a bizarre decision,” MacMahon said on The Hoop Collective. “But Luka’s body changed so much this summer, it confirms those conditioning concerns were real. His sudden commitment to conditioning, like, bro, you’re several years into your NBA career. The whole victory lap to me has been a little bit odd.”
For years, Doncic’s conditioning, or lack thereof, was a point of frustration within the Mavericks organization. While his talent has never been questioned, his fitness level often limited his stamina, defense, and overall impact in long playoff runs. According to MacMahon, Dallas did everything they could to help Luka stay in shape during the offseason, but he simply didn’t follow through.
“There was this suggestion that he was left without guidance during the summer and that he was on his own,” MacMahon continued. “Trust me, the Mavericks were giving him all the guidance in the world. None of that guidance was ‘feast every night and throw down a bunch of beers.’”
Luka was horribly out of shape with the Mavericks, consistently reaching weights of 230 or above. At one point, there were reports that he was up to 260 pounds. In response, the Mavericks tried everything to get him to slim down, including surrounding him with a “body team,” offering guidance in the offseason, and applying public pressure to ramp up his conditioning.
None of those tricks worked, and Luka continued to drop the ball on staying in shape. Eventually, it led to his departure from the Mavericks in a blockbuster deal with the Lakers. Ever since his arrival in Los Angeles, Doncic has seemed publicly motivated to prove Dallas wrong ever since his departure, and he made it a point to show how serious he is about rewriting the narrative.
Over the past few weeks and months, Luka has expressed an overwhelming dedication to offseason conditioning, and reports have surfaced of a brand new routine. With countless photos and videos of Luka, he’s made it known how slimmed down he has become, and the difference is shocking (he’s reportedly already lost 31 pounds).
While this is good news for the Lakers, it proves that Doncic was not putting much work into his body back in Dallas. For whatever reason, he never took their pleas seriously and dismissed their efforts to whip him into shape.
In a way, Luka is proving the Mavericks right with his actions this summer, and his new and improved form is proof that he was always capable of more. So, as he tries to “stick it” to the Mavs for trading him, they must be feeling somewhat justified that he’s willing to do for the Lakers what he wasn’t for them.
In the end, Luka’s body transformation is a win for the Lakers, but a lingering frustration for the Mavericks. The effort he’s putting in now is exactly what Dallas needed from him all along, and the fact that it took a trade to spark that change leaves some bitter feelings behind.
Whether this offseason becomes the launch point for Luka’s MVP revenge tour or simply a flash of what could’ve been in Dallas, one thing is clear: the spotlight is now fully on Doncic to back up the hype with results. And if he fails to deliver in Los Angeles, no amount of weight loss will protect him from the criticism next time.
