Jeremy Holsopple now joins Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers after being fired by Nico Harrison of the Dallas Mavericks before Doncic was traded in February.
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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks.
TheLos AngelesLakers‘ latest move shows they are 100% all-in onLuka Doncic leading the team for the future.
According to Marc Stein, the Lakers have hired strength and conditioning coachJeremy Holsopple. He was previously with theDallas Mavericks and is a friend of Doncic, meaning Los Angeles is betting on his weight loss as a long-term change.
“The Lakers are hiring Jeremy Holsopple as their new head strength and conditioning coach,”Stein wrote on X. “AsDallas’ athletic performance director, Holsopple was named as theNBA’s top strength and conditioning coach in March 2021.”
After his weight loss and contract extension with the Lakers, it is officially the ‘Summer of Luka Doncic‘in Los Angeles. The team has made the 26-year-old their main priority, bringing in players, and now coaches, to the franchise to fit around him in hopes of the Slovenian finishing his career in La La Land.
Lakers’ Newest Hire
Holsopple is well-known around the league, specifically for his work done with the Mavericks as theirathletic performance director from 2013 to 2024.
In an in-depth story written by ESPN in April,uncovering the struggles between Doncic and Dallas in the months leading up to the blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, Holsopple was highlighted as someone Doncichad trust in.
While Nico Harrison was ‘overhauling‘theteam’s athletic performance staff, Holsopple was one member whowas fired from the team because of his increased influence in team decision-making. Along with him, Casey Smith, a 20-year employee of the Mavericks, was fired by Harrison, which was a major domino in the strained relationship between the star and the team.
“Smith’s unceremonious departurewas followed by the dismissals of athletic performance director Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler in June, only days removed fromDallas’ appearance in the NBA Finals,”Tim McMahon wrote. “Smith, Holsopple and Spangler were all longtime Mavs employees who had helped Doncic, a Slovenian who spent his adolescence in Spain, make the major cultural transition after coming to Dallas as a teenager.”
Along with winning theNBA’s award forbest strength and conditioning coach in 2021, Holsopple was reportedly ‘TheMavs’ point man in the union withDoncic’s body team,‘according to McMahon.
After being traded mid-season, Doncic played in acareer-low 50 games last year on both the Mavericks and Lakers due to multiple injuries. Now with Holsopple, his presence gives Los Angeles a bit more hope that Doncic will remain healthy and in better shape for whatis expected to be deep playoff runs in each of the next few years.
The Summer Of Luka Doncic
Since Doncicwasn’t directly working with Holsopple before his recent weight loss and body transformation, his move to the Lakers means he will likely be in even better shape before next season and in the future.
Along with hiring one ofDoncic’s topguys from the Mavericks, the Lakers haveprovedhe is their priority. They signed him to athree-year $165 million extension, keeping him in Los Angeles until at least the summer of 2028. After that, he has the chance to sign a deal worthmore than $400 million that would keep him in Southern California for the first half of the 2030s decade.
Whether the Lakers manage to keepLeBron James for the final years of his career after this season, as well as other key players likeAustin Reaves, all they seem to care about right now is keeping Doncic happy. The latest hiring of Holsopple proves that, andregardless ofJames’ thoughts about not being the top star on the team, Doncic is the face of the Lakersgoing forward.
“We have what we need to compete for the championship,”Doncic said at his press conference, confirming his contract extension. “I’ll try to win every game no matter what, and we got some new great guys on the team, so you knowwe’re going to go for it.”
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinkaechoed that statement, saying, “I think every yearwe’re on an infinite cycle to try to improve this team and win championships, andwe’ll stay committed to that work…The best young basketball player in the universe joins for the long-term future, the best sports franchise on the globe.”