Even those most critical of Luka Dončić’s fitness see him turning over a new leaf with his conditioning during this Lakers offseason.
Considering how his departure in Dallas came about and the comments that followed, Luka Dončić’s conditioning will be under an intense microscope at least for the near future of his career.
No matter how out of pocket Mavs general manager Nico Harrison’s comments were about Luka and how long they’ve continued on, it placed a spotlight on his conditioning and everyone will be paying attention to it. Many wondered if the shock of the trade and now being part of a team with LeBron James — who has never had questions of his conditioning — could change Luka’s approach.
The early signs might be yes.
On a recent appearance on “The Dumb Zone,” Jason Gallagher, who is the producer of “Mind The Game” with LeBron James and Steve Nash and had a long history of working with JJ Redick on “The Old Man and the Three,” had some potential illuminating things to say about Luka.
“I’ve heard from folks that are pretty honest about the conditioning stuff or whatever that Luka has already like begun to clean slate, like starting anew. He’s already like in this mindset of changing a lot about himself. Now, I’ve heard it before, but not from specific people that have been critical of him.”
Gallagher is not a person known for reporting, but given his relationship with two of the most prominent people in the Lakers organization, this has some credence to it.
In the summer, we often hear about players being in the best shape of their lives and chatter about how much weight they’ve lost. The encouraging thing regarding this quote is that some of his biggest critics are saying he’s having a mindset shift on his conditioning.
Luka’s lack of elite physical fitness has been a narrative throughout his career. He’s, at times, looked a bit out of shape.
Dončić has also had multiple injuries that have sidelined him, including this season when he missed 32 games, mostly due to a left calf strain.
After the Wolves eliminated the Lakers in the postseason, Redick said the team needed to get in “championship shape” next season. It sounds like Luka is taking those words seriously.
During that series, Luka was noticeably gassed down the stretch of games. In Game 4 against the Wolves, that probably was more on Redick since he played his starters the entire second half with no rest.
However, it wasn’t the first time Luka looked exhausted and was slow to get back on either side of the court. For him to maximize his talents, fitness has to be a priority.
When everything is clicking for Luka, he is one of the best players in the NBA. None of that matters if his fitness won’t allow him to demonstrate it through a title run.
The good news is we’ll get some early indicators of Luka’s fitness level before the NBA season starts. He is expected to play EuroBasket for Slovenia, so we’ll see what his conditioning looks like during that tournament.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.