Luka Doncic Discussion: Lean Mean Slovenian Extension Machine

No? I remember like 3 or so years in it seemed like he bulked up muscle wise?

 

Fat Luka is best Luka

 

Yeah …. I’ll see your Fat Luka and raise you a Bubble Luka … even letting him put on 5-10 lbs max more.

 

Nash waiting in the wings, if JJ screws up next season?

 

man, that first statement--learning about how to prepare off the court--music to my ears...

interesting stuff about joy and youth basketball. i do think people underestimate how much the fun motivates the success. turning it into some sort of grindhouse probably paradoxically hurts the game by limiting both the number of people involved and the joy and creativity of those who do make it through. you're seeing three of the most fun-to-watch players here talking about it.

 

Yeah good discussion about the youth aspect, all year round focus on just one sport, "grinding" (abeer ) at too young of age and burnout.

 

It was a fun listen and yeah I think I agree with all the stuff about basketball training becoming too formal. I realized I've barely heard Luka talk about anything other than the trade. It's interesting that he seems pretty reserved off the court, but very expressive on court.

 

Not sure how many fans follow football, but this has been the paradox of the Brazilian National Team, as they've become more professional in their youth pipelines, they've taken away the magic and free flowing game that made them successful and special.

Being an ex tennis player, I found that my early youth was spent playing all kinds of sport, but to be really successful I had to focus in on only one sport at probably too young an age. The later effects were muscle imbalances that led to injuries and burn out. I wish I would of been more multi sport focused into my latter teen years.

 

yeah, i played all kinds of sports and had to quit all but hoops basically because the schedules dictated it. my dad swears i was better at baseball and could have played at a higher level (i'm not large), but i just didn't enjoy it as much. maybe if it wasn't either/or, i'd have stuck with it longer?

the injury thing is an interesting angle, too, because i pitched in baseball, and even doing that through age 14 still has me with some strength differences on either side of my body into adulthood (whole right side slightly stronger).

anyway, professionalizing youth sports is sad to me. i have girls, but even they seem timid about even trying sports because everyone else is so freakishly gung-ho about the competition. my eldest is an excellent athlete who will never play a sport in her life.

 

This was after he retired. Kobe was never out of shape at any point in his career.

 

I remember in 2019 Ben Simmons said over the offseason that he had fallen in love with basketball again. I thought that was laughable at the time coming from a 23 year old. Now, not so much. For the elite high school prospects like Simmons, basketball probably does feel more like a career than a passion after a while.

There are plenty of other reasons to make fun of Simmons and maybe he's not the right example to make this point, but I think about that quote from him every year around draft season when you start hearing the "X player is talented but does he really love basketball" stuff.

 

yeah, i've always strangely felt a little sympathetic towards simmons because i think he'd probably rather just do something else, lol.

luka definitely doesn't have that problem, which is nice.

 

I can understand getting into something and losing your enthusiasm after dealing with so many a**hats. I've had that kind of stuff occur in my life. I have moved on from a couple of interests because the people around those interests were egotistical know-it-alls with vengeance and aggression as their main avenues for recognition. Those who can, just do it, those who can't, just rip people on the internet. I am very sympathetic towards Simmons, but I think he should just take his money and quit. Go find something else he loves to do, even only likes to do. He could do a ton of things with the money he has made up to now.

 

pretty easy to fact check
https://www.justjared.com/2017/08/0...-by-the-pool-during-family-vacation-in-italy/
he was retired

 

^^^ …. inside Lakersball joke started by a posting mannerism of @OX1947 One word No and Yes declarations not always linked to reality.

 

Whatever happened to that Dallas fan, that was ready to convert after the Luka trade? It looks like he disappeared immediately, after the Mavs won the lottery.