August 2 was a day of rejoicing for Los Angeles Lakers fans across the world. Superstar Luka Doncic finally agreed on a three-year $165 million extension with the team after weeks of speculations. That said, the news of the extension led to something else rising to the surface.
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One of the biggest critiques surrounding Doncic has been regarding his fitness. It was clear that he wasn’t in the best shape during the 2024-25 NBA season. The question marks surrounding his fitness and work ethic were reportedly the reasons the Dallas Mavericks decided to part ways with their franchise cornerstone.
As a result, Doncic has made it a point of emphasis to enter the 2025-26 season in the best shape of his career. Reports from Slovenian media state that Doncic has lost 31 pounds in comparison to last season.
It has been a long time since Doncic has been that slim, six years to be exact. Fans have grown optimistic that Doncic’s physique from his rookie season will make a return. Amid the excitement, a highlight tape of Doncic dominating the EuroLeague before entering the NBA resurfaced on Reddit.
[Highlights] Young Luka Dončić, playing for Real Madrid, dominating seasoned veteran professionals in the EuroLeague.
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u/shreeharis in
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In hindsight, it’s hard to believe that scouts across the NBA didn’t have Doncic as the consensus top prospect. Doncic began his professional career at 16 years old with Real Madrid. Remarkably, he etched his name in the history books as the 21st player to make their EuroLeague debut while under 17.
It didn’t take long for Doncic to find his footing on the professional level. In the 2017-18 season, everything began to click for Doncic. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 16.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists. His tremendous feats led him to become the youngest winner of the EuroLeague MVP award.
All of his achievements have led to many fans expressing their praise for his skill. “He was quite literally the most accomplished 19-year-old basketball player ever,” a user proclaimed.
It was clear that Doncic had the tools to be great. The resurfacing of this video led to many fans expressing their shock at the league’s lack of recognition for talent.
“It’s just crazy that NBA GMs slept on him too,” one user said.
Doncic eventually went third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. Two teams had the opportunity to select the Slovenian star, the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. At the time, Deandre Ayton made a compelling case to be the top overall pick. But to this day, fans continue to clown the Kings for their poor draft selection.
“Kings GM watched this video and thought, ‘yep, we are taking Marvin Bagley,'” another user said.
Doncic has certainly lived up to expectations and then some. Hopefully, this upcoming season, he can silence all the negative narratives surrounding him and prove just how great he truly is.
