The op-ed below does not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kansan and its members.<\/p>\n
During the 2024-25 NBA season, a regular conversation between NBA fans and people within the media was how Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s weight is affecting his performance. On Feb. 1, 2025, NBA headlines<\/a> broke that the Dallas Mavericks had traded their star player Luka Don\u010di\u0107 for Lakers center Anthony Davis. The news broke on X by Shams Charania, a well-respected ESPN NBA Insider.<\/p>\n At first many people, even NBA players, believed that Charania’s account was hacked as they could not comprehend the trade. According to ESPN<\/a>,\u00a0Don\u010di\u0107 had averaged 28.2 points per game, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists. I believe that his averages were extremely productive; however, the Dallas Mavericks had decided to trade him. According to ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon<\/a>, one of their main reasons was that they felt he was not in good enough shape. On the Lakers, he continued to have a very productive season playing alongside NBA superstar Lebron James.<\/p>\n I believe that playing on the Lakers helped elevate Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s game as he was surrounded by players like James, as well as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura who have both improved on their own individual performances. However, during the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Lakers did not live up to their expectations. The team fell short to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, leaving fans extremely disappointed.<\/p>\n One of the biggest talking points amongst fans was the lack of a \u201creal\u201d center on the Lakers. While the team had been starting center Jaxson Hayes, according to ESPN<\/a>, he had only averaged 6.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist throughout the season. Many fans felt that these numbers were very underwhelming for the starting center of the team. This went on to be very prevalent against the Timberwolves as Hayes was benched by coach JJ Redick for underperforming, leaving no real center on the floor. This would lead to a dominant performance by star player Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and center Rudy Gobert who, throughout the game, found it very easy to attack the basket with the lack of center present on the floor.<\/p>\n While the Lakers still failed to meet expectations, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 still put on a good performance during the first round of the playoffs. According to ESPN<\/a>, Don\u010di\u0107 averaged 30.2 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game and 5.8 assists per game. Statistically these are very impressive numbers; however, many fans noticed a lack of defensive effort from Don\u010di\u0107 during certain possessions. In many cases while guarding players like Edwards and Randle, Don\u010di\u0107 struggled keeping up with their speed and athleticism.<\/p>\n This would cause many viewers, including fans and critics, to blame his performance on his weight and make comments that he was too slow and did not play defense. According to ESPN<\/a>, Don\u010di\u0107 weighed 230 pounds during the 2024-2025 NBA season; however, rumors would swirl within the basketball world that his weight had peaked at 260-270 pounds. SB Nation<\/a> mentions that back in 2021, ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon reported that Dallas was already lying about Doncic\u2019s weight, saying \u201csources told ESPN that Don\u010di\u0107\u00a0reported to training camp weighing more than 260 pounds for the second consecutive year. His listed weight is 230 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n This would mainly come from media people within the sports world and viewers\u2019 attempting to rationalize the reason for the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 trade proposal. After the Lakers underwhelming performance and disappointing end to their season, many eyes were on Don\u010di\u0107 and what his mindset going into the summer would be. Don\u010di\u0107 went on to post videos of him eating healthy meals on his Instagram story. Months went by with fans noticing the body transformation of Don\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n Eventually,\u00a0Men’s Health magazine<\/a>\u00a0published their July 28, 2025, cover story featuring Don\u010di\u0107. The cover was titled \u201cLuka Don\u010di\u0107 Muscles Up: The Skinny On The Lakers Star\u2019s Summer Shred.\u201d The article within the magazine was titled \u201cLuka Don\u010di\u0107 2.0 Has Entered The Chat.\u201d Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s workouts were very versatile, consisting of circuits, upper-body and lower-body exercises. The facility added weights including dumbbells, barbells, weight plates and med balls. Don\u010di\u0107 added to his workout routine by including trap-bar deadlifts, landmine overhead presses and other exercises as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fans were pleased to be finally given further insight into Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s summer plan. When asked by ESPN<\/a> about his weight loss, Don\u010di\u0107 said, \u201cjust visually, I would say my whole body looks better.\u201d He was seemingly being pleased with his results. Don\u010di\u0107 eventually headlines the Slovenia men’s national team. Fans immediately noticed Don\u010di\u0107 playing with a faster pace and a greater urgency on defense.<\/p>\n While Don\u010di\u0107 played well, he suffered a knee collision scare. Don\u010di\u0107 ended up being fine and attempted to return to the game but was recommended against it by Slovenian staff according to Yahoo Sports<\/a>. While Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s minutes were under watch, according to FIBA<\/a>, Don\u010di\u0107 managed to average an impressive 34.7 points, 8.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game. Eventually on Sept. 29, 2025, the Lakers had their media day to start the season. Don\u010di\u0107 and James posed in pictures and fans were amped up for a fresh start. The Lakers shared their official training camp roster and to the surprise of many, Don\u010di\u0107 was listed at 244 pounds. This left many confused as Don\u010di\u0107 was listed at 230 pounds previously but had made very identifiable improvements to his body. Many, including myself, believe that it is possible that the rumored reports of Don\u010di\u0107 peaking around 26 to 270 could have been true.<\/p>\n It is also possible that Don\u010di\u0107 went upweight because of newly gained muscle while training. Overall many fans, including myself, are eager to see Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s performance during this season with his new physique and mindset. Recently Shams Charania reported<\/a> that Lebron James will be out for three to four weeks during the regular season due to sciatica on his right side. Many fans are worried due to James\u2019s absence during the opening of the season as it is a first in his career. However, I\u2019m relieved to know that Don\u010di\u0107 will be able to step up to the table.<\/p>\n ESPN interviewed Don\u010di\u0107 about James\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n “It’s a big change,” Doncic said of having to play without James. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be ‘next man up\u2026.\u201d’<\/p>\n With the 2025-2026 NBA season on its way, there are many eyes on the Lakers and fans are expecting anticipating a dominant showing from Don\u010di\u0107. I believe that with his new-found physique, Don\u010di\u0107 will be able to help lead the Lakers to a strong start to the season. I am anticipating a faster pace to his game and a stronger effort on defense with his speed. I also believe additions to the roster like Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart will help Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s play. Ayton will give Don\u010di\u0107 the ability to have a true lob threat on his team, while Smart will give him back up on defense. Overall I truly believe that Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s changes to his physique will impact the Lakers\u2019 performance in a positive way.<\/p>\n Luka Simac (lukasimac@ku.edu<\/a>) is a junior from Lawrence Kansas, majoring in sports management and minoring in digital marketing. He enjoys watching and playing basketball.<\/p>\n This article was edited by Opinion Editor Arien Roman-Rojas. If the information in this article needs to be corrected, please contact arienroman@ku.edu<\/a>. We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n The University Daily Kansan accepts Letters to the Editor as an open forum for individuals to voice their concerns, opinions and thoughts in our Opinion section. If you are interested in sharing a written piece, find more information about our guidelines\u00a0here<\/a> and send your article to editor@kansan.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The op-ed below does not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kansan and its members. 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