One of the biggest knocks on Luka Doncic from the fans and media alike is his appearance and playing shape.
Standing at 6'7 and weighing 230 pounds, Doncic is as sturdy as they come. He uses his body to back players down in the post and to finish through contact at the rim. But Luka's sturdy frame has also been criticized.
For two-straight seasons, Doncic came to training camp overweight. In the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, it was reported that he weighed around 260 pounds, 30 pounds over his listed 230 pounds. It was inevitable that Doncic was out of shape and didn't look as healthy and twitchy as he had in seasons past.
Mavericks rumors: Luka Doncic hires a nutritionist to help him stay in shape
And he admitted that.
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"I had a long summer. I had the olympics, took three weeks off, and I relaxed a little bit. Maybe too much. I've just got to get back on track."Luka Doncic on the summer of 2021
And Doncic did that. He came into the 2022-23 season looking thinner than the two previous seasons, but he was still running out of gas at the end of games. Doncic looked tired several times when the fourth quarter rolled around and wasn't closing out games like he had in the past.
He averaged 5.8 points per fourth quarter last season, ranking 24th in the NBA. Although part of the reason that this number is lower than expected is that he typically sits the first few minutes to start the fourth, it's still not the best look. His field goal percentage also drops from 49.1 percent in the third quarter to 46.3 percent in the final period.
But things could change for Doncic in the 2023-24 season.
Per Nick Angstadt of Locked on Mavericks, Doncic hired a nutritionist.
A source from Slovenia reached out to Angstadt and let him know that Doncic seems to be eating better and hired a nutritionist to help with this.
"He did not participate in the very unhealthy eating that the rest of the people around him was participating in", source told Angstadt about Doncic. "He was eating very healthy, this person said."
This information comes from an unnamed source in Slovenia but is still a good sign for the Mavericks as their superstar is looking to take his health and shape to the next level for next season if true. It needed to happen and is a sign of maturing for Doncic as he enters his sixth season.
Stay tuned to see if Luka Doncic can take his health to the next level this summer as he will play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup starting in August. It will be fans' first chance to see Doncic in basketball action before next season and will be a great indicator of how Doncic trained in the summer.