The Mavericks warn Luka Doncic again about his weight
The precedents of previous summers have led the Texan team to pay special attention to their star, Luka Doncic.
For basketball lovers, the summer of 2023 means the World Cup, but for many players and especially for their teams, the key to the season will come after the showpiece event. For that reason, some players, such as the recent MVP of the finals, Nikola Jokic, have decided not to attend the World Cup and have already started preparing for the 2023/24 season. It’s also a key summer for the Dallas Mavericks, who are coming off a season where they missed out on the NBA playoffs - and for their star player Luka Doncic in his struggles to keep his weight down.
Weight issues
According to The Athletic journalist Tim Cato, high-ranking officials at the Texan franchise have spoken with the player in a bid to help him to “lower his optimum weight to play this summer”. In recent weeks, the Slovenian had uploaded several videos to his social media accounts of himself training to get fit for the World Cup. The optimal competition weight for the player is a topic that he himself has discussed and has given him problems with his performance in the past when he was over his ideal weight.
The wake-up call dates back two years, during the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Luka and Slovenia finished fourth at the event, and for his efforts, his team allowed him to rejoin training two weeks later. However, when he turned up at the Mavs’ training camp, his weight had ballooned to 118 kilos, when his optimum weight to compete is 104.
The player himself admitted in an interview months later to ESPN: “Maybe I relaxed too much having three weeks off after the Games”. The information shared by The Athletic says that both the organization and the player are convinced that he will start next season “looking as good as ever”. This season is key for the future of the former Real Madrid player; the forecasts for the MVP place him for the first time in three seasons outside the first position - although he has only dropped one place to second. Every year, the rumors that he could move on grow stronger and a a definitive could be on the cards next season if no improvement in the team’s results is seen.