Any questions about just how impactful \u201cskinny\u201d Luka Doncic can be were dispelled during EuroBasket, when he led the tournament in scoring at 34.7 points a game, added 8.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists, and lifted Slovenia to the quarterfinals. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard not to connect this version of Doncic back to the shocking trade from last February when the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for a trade package focused around Anthony Davis. Doncic again discussed his shock at the trade, speaking in the Wall Street Journal Magazine for its Fall Men\u2019s Issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to react, how to act, what to say,\u201d Doncic tells me. \u201cIt was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn\u2019t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn\u2019t want to upset Laker fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Like the rest of us, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver connected the dots from the trade to Doncic\u2019s conditioning push. <\/p>\n \u201cPutting aside the merits of the trade, you could argue that it was a bit of a kick in the a** to Luka,\u201d says Adam Silver… \u201cHe didn\u2019t try to sugarcoat this trade.\u201d \u201cFor the first time, I stopped playing basketball for a month,\u201d he says. He says this as if he was deprived of oxygen. Out went the jump shots. In came the resistance bands, dead lifts, dumbbells and agility drills, plus a private chef who got a sweet break from 8 p.m. until noon the next day, as Doncic intermittently fasted. \u201cPure training and fitness,\u201d Doncic says. \u201cAnd padel tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n The result of all that work was evident at EuroBasket, and the Lakers are looking forward to it carrying over into the season. Doncic and LeBron James form one of the best, highest IQ duos in the NBA, but how far that (and their supporting cast) can get them in a ridiculously deep Western Conference is up for debate heading into the season. <\/p>\n LeBron praises Doncic in the Wall Street Journal article<\/a>, which doesn\u2019t break any new ground but does show why this could be an MVP-level season for Doncic in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
That kick in the a** included the post-trade spin out of Dallas, leaked concerns about Doncic\u2019s health and conditioning. That sparked Doncic\u2019s offseason conditioning program, one that went viral this offseason<\/a> \u2014 and not on accident as Doncic\u2019s team works to control the narrative around him. <\/p>\n