NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal spoke about the trade involving Luka Doncic going to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. While he talked about the surprise deal, O’Neal touched more on the subject of why the Dallas Mavericks traded their franchise star. One of the reasons general manager Nico Harrison made the trade was because of Doncic’s lack of conditioning.
Several Mavs administration members reportedly were irritated with the star’s physical condition. Doncic’s “constant conditioning issues” had begun to worry Dallas, which prompted the move. O’Neal, who has faced criticism for his weight in the past, was questioned how much of a chip the story of his physique was for him once it was brought up.
“It wasn’t really a chip on my should because I didn’t work on the summer, ’cause I got obligations, family, children and I wanted to work my way into shape. That was my method, it worked for me,” O’Neal said. “There’s a lot of so-called methods of how to get it done. You come in shape and become a first-ballot Hall of Famer, you even win three championships in a row. That’s you’re way. My way, I did it my way and I’m happy with the way I did it.
"Fat Luka is better than 99.9% of all guards in the league"
Shaq on what a friend told him regarding the conditioning reports around Luka 😅 pic.twitter.com/SPdKduZSrU
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2025
The four-time champion also defended Luka Doncic’s weight.
“I don’t know — he doesn’t look out of shape to me. I need to know what the term — when you say out of shape, is it fat? Does he have a six-pack? Are we talking body fat? Because one of my best friends told me, ‘Fat Luka is better than 99.9% of all the guards the game.’
“In shape Luka, five years, First Team All-NBA. Fat Luka or this out of shape Luka, First Team All-NBA [for] five years. If that’s the case they let him go, obviously, I would definitely have to blame management because there’s better ways to handle that.”
Luka Doncic spoke about the “out of shape” narrative
Luka Doncic finally addressed the media for the first time on Tuesday since the trade became official. During his introductory press, Doncic revealed his thoughts after finding out that one of the reasons he was traded was because he was out of shape. The five-time All-Star denied any of it and said he’ll use it as encouragement moving forward.
“It’s a motive,” Doncic said. “I know it’s not true, but it’s a motive.”
Luka Doncic on the criticism of his weight issue & poor conditioning from the Dallas Mavericks brass:
“It’s a motive… I know it’s not true, but it’s a motive.”
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dj5prrmgQY
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) February 4, 2025
Even Markieff Morris, who was part of the trade package, shut down the negative talk regarding Luka Doncic’s weight.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
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 with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
