Luka Doncic Discussion: Lean Mean Slovenian Machine

For anyone else paywalled:

https://archive.ph/qv9wW

 

seems a bit overwrought and perhaps hokey, but hey, if it keeps him on the floor and playing well, whatever works.

 

This is going to be an amazing year!

 

Tusks for posting that

 

What a transformation in such a short time. I'm impressed

So many people were questioning his dedication to being in good shape.

That shows that he's fully in tune on doing this

 

not to wet blanket, but in all these features, his crack support team has been with him for a couple years--which means they were there for the before pictures and some before the before pictures.

i'm a believer that he's going to be in better shape, but i actually think it's mostly he just got kind of shamed into it moreso than a brand new approach surrounding him, if that makes sense. and maybe that's better anyway, but in some ways it kind of supports the dallas narrative that they felt like they tried everything, and he just wouldn't adapt.

well, he's adapted, it appears. and i don't particularly care for the reasons, just find it kind of funny that the staff that keeps getting kudos has been in place during his darkest times. in fact, in one of these pieces, one of them is basically like, "he's 26...sometimes he doesn't do what we say" lol.

edit: similarly, i'm sure NO has tried plenty of stuff to get zion to just...stop eating...and then he rolls out from under a bunch of donut boxes and touches the top of the backboard and tells them he's good. what, if anything, will be zion's moment of clarity? luka's was being traded, and then--it seems--getting blasted in the playoffs by a team he basically beat by himself a year prior.

 

Fall* don't lie.


* in weight

 

the early playoff exit + not having to jump straight into international games like he normally does has been a blessing in disguise as it's given luka far more time than he's ever had in the offseason to work on his body

 

I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong. I've never seen a superstar, in the prime of their career, completely turn around their poor conditioning, bad eating habits, and/or poor attitude and lifestyle choices. Shaq, Zion, Harden, Ben Simmons, Ja Morant are some notable superstars with generational talent, but questionable dedication.

Luka's transformation is extremely rare... IF it lasts. Shaq reportedly lost like 60lbs after being traded to Miami, but quickly became fat again in a year or two.

 

None of this means anything if you don’t stay consistent. Lebron has been in peak shape for 30 years. No fat moments. I’m hoping that’s what rubs off on Luka because he can play another 10 years if he works on his body.

 

eh, a few weeks ago we were told this couldn't happen, either.

 

nope. Career ended at 26 with the calf strain. Factz

 

This isn’t the first time Luka got fit, after his second season he worked out and I remember all the photos being posted across twitter. The guys a generational talent and has the talent and ability to be a top 20 player of all time or better.

But it’s not ridiculous to comment that if he doesn’t take care of himself, he might not fulfill his potential. I’m optimistic, but it’s not a guarantee he’ll be obsessive about his conditioning, diet, routine by any stretch.