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One of the offseason’s biggest talking points has been Luka Doncic’s body transformation, with the Slovenian star noticeably slimming down during his first summer since joining the LA Lakers. On Wednesday’s episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast, teammate LeBron James issued a warning to the league about this leaner version of Doncic.
Doncic reportedly lost 31 lbs (14 kg) ahead of EuroBasket 2025, and his official weight this season is listed at 244 lbs (111 kg).
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According to James, Doncic’s new physique opens up possibilities that weren’t as easy when he was heavier.
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“(Doncic) just looks obviously a little bit quicker, a little bit more functional,” James said. “But I think, more importantly, what a lot of people will not see is the recovery. … It’s not like Luka’s game is gonna change. It’s not like he’s still gonna get 30, 40/15/10 -- that’s not gonna change. “But I think for him personally, what’s gonna change for him is he’s gonna see how he wakes up the next day after three or four nights. He’s gonna be like, ‘Oh man.’ ‘Cause you’ve built this up, you’ve built this body up, and now it’s gonna be so beneficial to you and your recovery process and your energy.”Part of the reason Luka Doncic was eventually traded by the Dallas Mavericks involved concerns about his conditioning. James, of course, is widely regarded as one of the masters of conditioning, entering his historic 23rd NBA season.
In 28 regular-season games with the Lakers, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
Will Luka Doncic play for the Lakers in preseason?
The Lakers are 0-2 in preseason, as neither LeBron James nor Luka Doncic have suited up yet.
Earlier this week, JJ Redick addressed Doncic’s availability, noting the team hopes to see him return during the preseason.
“We’re gonna use next week to continue to just get him in a good spot, with his body and his energy and all that stuff,” Redick said (per SI). “He was great the first two days at camp; it was a lot. It made sense, given his workload this summer, to just kind of pull back. He’s in a great place physically and mentally. We’ll just continue to use next week to just get him ramped up and get all the guys acclimated with him.”The Lakers still have four preseason games remaining: against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and Sacramento Kings on Friday.
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Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro
English (US)