Magic Johnson has clearly been reading up on the conditioning concerns about Luka Doncic and had some choice words for the new Lakers star.
The Lakers legend laid down the law for Doncic and explained how every star that plays for the purple and gold is held to an extremely high standard.
“Luka gotta understand this is not Dallas,” Johnson said on First Take with Stephen A. Smith. “To your point, Kobe — superstar who led us, Shaq led us to a championship, LeBron led us.”
“Leadership,” Smith added, and Johnson responded, “And that’s what’s missing here. We shouldn’t have to tell you to be in shape, you should have been about that, right? Especially [when] you’re a superstar. So this is gonna be an important year for the Lakers, important offseason for the Lakers. And we have got to get better and look at the championship. Always look at the Finals, it’s going to tell you what you have to do in the offseason.”
It looks as though all the negative comments about conditioning have been fueling Luka this offseason.
Photos have emerged of him looking REALLY lean and videos of him going hard in the gym have gone viral.
Luka in the gym 🏋️♂️
(h/t @CourtsideBuzzX) pic.twitter.com/Zo4ar3f2b8
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 10, 2025
But, skinny Luka offseason photos are as common as the videos of Ben Simmons draining threes over the summer.
The real test will come when the season begins in October.
No doubt, with LeBron James on the retirement clock, the Lakers will be trying their absolute best to chase a championship. But, they need to secure a starting center first.
