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Los Angeles Lakers
Aug 8, 2025 6:44 PM EDT
While the newly svelte Luka Doncic announced what might be his best conditioning offseason with a Men’s Health cover story, and while he now has a new max contract with the Lakers with which to buy plenty of skinny jeans, the real question for L.A. is just how all this will affect what Doncic does on the court. Because even when he was carrying a bit of extra weight, he was, no doubt, one of the best players in the NBA.
Remember, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists after he was traded to the Lakers in February, which are pretty good numbers, of course. Additionally, he averaged 30.2 points and led all NBA players in the postseason with 41.6 minutes per game.
His conditioning was not really a reason the Lakers lost in the playoffs.
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Luka Doncic Falls to Franz Wagner
On Friday, Doncic suited up for Slovenia and gave fans the first look at himself in action since the much-hyped body work this summer. The caveat, of course, is that the game did not count for much, seeing as it was only a EuroBasket tune-up match with Germany in Slovenia.
Doncic was good, in a limited time on the floor, just 24 minutes. He had 19 points, three rebounds and five assists, making five of his 11 field-goal attempts. He was 3-for-6 from the 3-point line and only 6-for-13 from the free-throw line.
Ultimately, Germany won, 103-89, thanks in large part to the other star player who was on the floor, Franz Wagner of Germany and the Orlando Magic. Wagner had 18 points in just 17 minutes, going 7-for-10 from the field.
Doncic said earlier in the week that he had considered skipping EuroBasket, though only briefly.
“There was a thought, but in the end I think we all knew I was going to play,” he said. “As I have said many times before, if I can, I will always play so that the decision was not difficult.”
Slovenia will play its EuroBasket opener Aug. 28 vs. Poland in Katowice, Poland.
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Sean Deveney