Not a single person in the NBA fraternity have ever doubted that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is one of the most gifted players to ever grace the league. However, plenty of questions have been asked about his defensive effort, as well as his conditioning.
And while he may have improved on one of those aspects in spectacular fashion this offseason, having reportedly lost around 30 pounds, his defensive frailties have been obvious at multiple times during his career. The Slovenian himself reportedly expects that transformation to also help in defence.
Luka says he expects his new level of conditioning to help him with “everything,” including playing defense, per Rachel Nichols.
Luka says he expects his new level of conditioning to help him with “everything,” including playing defense, Nichols wrote on X.
Last season, Luka averaged 28.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game for the Lakers. He shot at 53% from the field and had a handsome 37.9% conversion rate from beyond the arc. However, Luka’s struggles with one-on-one defense and a perceived lack of effort on the defensive end of things is a problem that has been mentioned multiple times through his career. That was also said to be one of the reasons why the Mavericks decided to trade their superstar to the Lakers in the first place.
Doncic has often been seen as a liability on the defensive end, something that continues to be an issue as the Lakers continue to seemingly plan their future around the Slovenian. And while detractors may have spoken in the past to claim that these issues do not stem from Luka Doncic's weight, the player certainly seems to believe so.
At the very least, Luka believes that hi physical transformation will also help him in defence, something which can only be proven once the season actually tips off.
