After guard Luka Doncic got traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, reports surfaced indicating that the Mavericks had questions about the Slovenian’s commitment to being in shape.
According to Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com, the Mavericks were worried that as a result of Doncic’s conditioning, they would find themselves in a Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid-type situation. Embiid has appeared in only 16 of the team’s 52 games in the 2024-25 regular season and has yet to suit up in 70-plus games in a single campaign ever since he was drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 3 overall pick back in the 2014 NBA Draft.
But former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade doesn’t buy the notion that Doncic is out of shape.
“That don’t even compute to me,” Wade said of the idea that Doncic isn’t in shape. “A guy at that level — when I’m hearing this narrative about him being out of shape, that doesn’t compute to me. You can’t do what you do being out of shape.”
Wade seemingly does have a valid point in that it’s hard to imagine a player of Doncic’s talent level is out of shape. He might not be the fastest or most athletic player in the NBA today, as he doesn’t exactly have a penchant for playing above the rim. But he’s certainly been one of the most productive over the past few seasons.
Since the 2021-22 campaign, Doncic has three All-NBA First Team nods, several All-Star appearances and one scoring title under his belt. He led the NBA with 33.9 points per game during the 2023-24 campaign.
Furthermore, Doncic has played in two Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals during that stretch. Last year, he helped the Mavericks reach the championship series for the first time in more than one decade.
With that in mind, if Doncic is indeed out of shape, that arguably would make all that he’s accomplished in the league even more impressive.
Doncic just recently wrapped up his Laker debut, and he had a quiet performance in a dominant win for Los Angeles. The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz by nearly 20 points on Monday, and he totaled 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
His next opportunity to take the floor with the Lakers will come when the team faces off against the Jazz once again on Wednesday. Los Angeles will try to hand the lowly Jazz their fourth consecutive loss.
