As the 80th NBA season edges closer, Lakers fans have plenty to be excited about. Sure, LeBron James’ sciatica diagnosis has everyone a bit on edge, but with ‘skinny’ Luka Doncic already shedding 30 pounds, the purple and gold nation can start dreaming again.
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Still, questions remain about whether the Wonder Boy can return to glory, especially after shedding so much weight over the offseason. But NBA analyst Rachel Nichols is confident the Slovenian star has, or will have, the work ethic to make it happen.
When the Dallas Mavericks dropped Doncic in the middle of last season, the Slovenian star seemingly took it personally. It was difficult not to, especially after accusations were made against him about not being disciplined enough to take the Mavs to the next level.
Cut to a few months later, Doncic has not only shed the weight, he’s also graced the cover of Men’s Health and averaged 34.7 points for Slovenia in European competition. So when Nichols and Chris Mannix discussed the potential MVPs for this season, she had to bring up the new-and-improved Doncic, the man now known as ‘Skinny Luka’, and gave him her vote of confidence for an MVP-level performance.
“I think Skinny Luka, we are going to see a huge leap from him this year,” Nichols said, adding, “From a guy who was already a top 3, top 5 player.”
Mannix chimed in, adding that it would be interesting if the Lakers could finish top 4 in the West. “Very rarely, do you see an MVP from the back half of the playoff bracket,” he pointed out.
“If he can lead the Lakers into the Top 4 seeds, like a 55ish season, even 50, I guess [that] would probably do it,” Mannix added, predicting Doncic’s MVP chances. Unfortunately, the 2025-26 NBA GM survey points in another direction.
Only 10% of survey participants believe Doncic could realistically contend for MVP, which came as rather shocking to Nichols.
“I was surprised to see him [favored by] such a small percentage of that survey, and then it just sort of made me look around a little bit more. I was like, ‘Oh, how are people rating Luka in terms of what they expect from him this season?'” Nichols expressed her shock, adding that a lot of the complaints about Doncic from last season were related to his weight.
“All the stuff that we complained about Luka, like ‘oh, he’s arguing with the officials … some of it has always felt like stalling … When you are tired, you get frustrated more easily. Anyone who is a parent of a toddler, understands that tired leads to more temper tantrums. I think he will be less tired [now]. I think we will see more discipline out of him,” Nichols predicted.
She also noted that Doncic has a lot more to prove defensively this season. And while it is never going to be his forte, if Doncic, like Nikola Jokic, can improve enough that it’s no longer a weakness, he could finally live up to his potential.
The veteran NBA analyst clarified at the end that while she is not pegging Doncic to win MVP, she believes the Slovenian will certainly be a bigger part of the conversation than the survey suggests.
