![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757206927_51_GettyImages-2228363695-e1756612893977.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic of Slovenia reacts during an international basketball game. <\/p>\n
Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> has turned heads this offseason with a dramatic 31-pound weight loss, one of the biggest storylines for the team ahead of the 2025-26 season. Analysts have attributed the transformation to criticism about his body and off-court habits during his time in Dallas before being traded to the Lakers midseason.<\/p>\n But Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean said the influence of veteran LeBron James<\/a> has been just as significant.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what? I always find this \u2014 iron sharpens iron,\u201d St. Jean told BasketNews<\/a>. \u201cWhen you\u2019re around really good players, it\u2019s just like when you\u2019re a coach, and you\u2019re around a really good coach. You can\u2019t help but be motivated to continue to get better at your craft. I think Luka\u2019s learned a little bit from every great player he\u2019s been around. And I know he\u2019s always looked up to LeBron. He\u2019s always been somebody he\u2019s really admired. So I think having those two together is obviously motivating. I think it\u2019s two-way motivating as well. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just a one-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n James\u2019 world-class body care has been widely reported, contributing to his longevity in the league. The soon-to-be 41-year-old has reportedly spent $1.5 million annually<\/a> on body care and training.<\/p>\n \u201cI think LeBron, you can see, is working really hard as well. He\u2019s up at 5 a.m., and he\u2019s working on his body as well,\u201d St. Jean said. \u201cSo, I think our team and our players \u2014 it\u2019s not just about those two guys \u2014 but I think everybody\u2019s motivated to come back and have a really good season.\u201d<\/p>\n Diet, Fasting and Training<\/p>\n According to Slovenian Pop TV<\/a>, Don\u010di\u0107 has shed an average of more than 10 pounds per month since the Lakers\u2019 season ended in April. In a Men\u2019s Health magazine cover interview<\/a>, he revealed following a 16-hour intermittent fasting schedule six days a week.<\/p>\n Each day except Sunday, Don\u010di\u0107 fasts from 8:30 p.m. until noon the following day, with his first workout scheduled at the end of the fasting window. His diet focuses on gluten-free, low-sugar foods, with at least 250 grams of protein daily and a shake made with almond milk. He has also incorporated plant-based foods into his regimen and took a month off from basketball to recover physically and mentally.<\/p>\n On-Court Impact<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 said he expects the offseason changes to improve his conditioning and overall performance.<\/p>\n \u201cI would just say a little bit of everything,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 told reporters. \u201cObviously, a little bit faster. But I don\u2019t know, just trying to help the team condition-wise. Obviously, playing a lot of minutes, a lot of games, so I think that\u2019s going to be the best for me.\u201d<\/p>\n The transformation appears to be paying off.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 is leading all scorers<\/a> in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket, averaging 32.4 points per game. He also leads in efficiency (35.4) and ranks second in assists (8.4). Notably, he is also leading the tournament in steals, averaging 3.2 per game, and helped Slovenia advance to the Round of 16 with 16 steals in the group stage.<\/p>\n As the Lakers prepare for the new season, Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s improved conditioning and the mentorship of James are expected to be key factors in the team\u2019s performance. Observers will be watching whether the combination of offseason discipline and veteran influence translates to on-court success in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Luka Doncic of Slovenia reacts during an international basketball game. Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Don\u010di\u0107 has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-124398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}