Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic turned heads recently with his new look this offseason. No longer can fans and critics attack his physical condition since he’s trimmed off a ton of weight. Doncic even graced the cover of the latest edition of Men’s Health magazine. A former NBA player even named him as their early pick to win the MVP award next season.
Ever since Doncic was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft, there has been much discussion about his fitness. Even when he led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals, he was criticized for having a beer after winning the Western Conference finals. According to reports, his physical conditioning was also the reason why Dallas gave up on him.
However, Doncic is looking to change that narrative starting next season.
In the latest edition of “Road Trippin’,” Kendrick Perkins talked about how he loves the new look of the Los Angeles Lakers star. He went on to pick him as a potential winner of the MVP award.
“We ain’t looking at the chubby, fat Luka. The beer-sipping Luka. We ain’t looking at medium Luka, we looking at skinny Luka,” Perkins said. “I saw his jawline, I saw veins popping out his ears, the man is in shape.
“By the way, he is my early pick for MVP. If you saw what we were getting out of chubby Luka, imagine what we about to get out of skinny Luka. We about to get the best version of Luka Doncic.”
What are the expectations for ‘Skinny Luka’?@kendrickperkins says “He is my early pick for MVP” pic.twitter.com/hBvFH6G73O
— Road Trippin’ Show🎧 (@RoadTrippinPod) July 29, 2025
Doncic’s use of his summer to focus on staying healthy and ready for the next season has won praise from both fans and detractors.
Stephen A. Smith still doesn’t believe in the Los Angeles Lakers star despite the body transformation
It’s difficult to please everyone. Even Luka Doncic, a five-time All-Star and a generational talent, has a hard time getting appreciation from critics. Longtime analyst Stephen A. Smith didn’t mince his words when the topic of the Los Angeles Lakers star was mentioned.
“Not any more scared than they already are,” Smith said. “I mean, the brother is phenomenal as an offensive talent. No doubt about this. But there’s a difference between getting in shape in the off-season and staying in shape during the season. And that’s something that we have to monitor moving forward. The conditioning is obviously imperative.”
.@stephenasmith doesn't feel the league needs to be "any more scared than they already are" of Luka Dončić 👀
"There's a difference between getting in shape in the offseason and staying in shape during the season." pic.twitter.com/Taf7RztJ0Z
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 29, 2025
To his point, Smith believes that staying consistently healthy is more important than showing it off once. He’s looking forward to the 2025-26 season to see how the Los Angeles Lakers star will continue his new and healthy lifestyle.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
