Luka has lost so much athleticism at such a young age

[azcatz11]

I made the comment in the game thread last night that I thought he was hungover.

[Johnny Firpo]

Muscle mass effect on BMR is overstated, no way Lukas maintenance is 3000 kcals, just no way, I'm 6'4", work a desk job, work out 3 times a week, moderate weights, much older than Luka, and my maintenance is 3000.

Again, doesn't really matter for my point. Let's say it's 3500, 3800 or even 4000 (there is absolutely no way it's more than that), you can still eat that regularly, very easily, if you are a big guy. I know, because I'm also one, just like you (6'5'' 260 at the moment, about 23% body fat) and Luka. For us, a 1000 calorie meal is not that much, we can easily gulp three of those down in a day, then some snacks and stuff. My maintenance is around 2900 btw, but it was actually worse than that like 2 years ago, when I was really, really fat. Also, can you link a study that doesn't link muscle mass and metabolic rate? Because I hear it from every expert that having a higher amount of muscle mass always increases your basic caloric need.

The BMR for a generic 6'6, 230 pound male at age 26 is only 2137 calories.
Sedentary: 2588
Exercise 1-3 times: 2999
Exercise 4-5 times: 3159
Daily Exercise: 3343
Intense exercise daily: 3720
Very Intense exercise/physical job: 4097.

FYI, Giannis eats 4k calories a day. Giannis is 6'11, 242 pounds, which is only 12 pounds more than Luka according to basketball reference.

I could see Luka having a metabolic rate of 3500-4000 calories a day but yeah, there is 0 chance he has a BMR of 3500. It's not even 2500. It's probably closer to 2000 than 2500.

Yeah, sorry, I meant maintenance there.

[10DayContract]

Some of the excuses I’ve seen for Luka’s body and fitness are amazing. This dude is a 60 million dollar a year professional basketball player. Like wtf? We’re allowed to be honest and say he looks like trash and is playing like an old man in his mid 20s. It’s nobodies’ fault but his. He’s not some child. What’s with all the deflection and excuses?

[CobraCommander]

Read on Twitter

Look how explosive he was.

LUKA looked good here BUT CAN BE MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN THIS FROM AN ATHLETICISM PERSPECTIVE WITH REAL SERIOUS TARGETED "SPEED" TRAINING.


people that don't train don't get how much better someone 26 years old thats untrained can improve if they get some serious speed, agility and explosiveness training. watching this video just shows underneath his 20% body fat is an amazing athlete!

in summary- Luka is only 26 with no significant injury, so Luka hasn't lost any athleticism - the truth is Luka hasn't unlocked his potential as a athlete

[CobraCommander]

Again, doesn't really matter for my point. Let's say it's 3500, 3800 or even 4000 (there is absolutely no way it's more than that), you can still eat that regularly, very easily, if you are a big guy. I know, because I'm also one, just like you (6'5'' 260 at the moment, about 23% body fat) and Luka. For us, a 1000 calorie meal is not that much, we can easily gulp three of those down in a day, then some snacks and stuff. My maintenance is around 2900 btw, but it was actually worse than that like 2 years ago, when I was really, really fat. Also, can you link a study that doesn't link muscle mass and metabolic rate? Because I hear it from every expert that having a higher amount of muscle mass always increases your basic caloric need.

The BMR for a generic 6'6, 230 pound male at age 26 is only 2137 calories.
Sedentary: 2588
Exercise 1-3 times: 2999
Exercise 4-5 times: 3159
Daily Exercise: 3343
Intense exercise daily: 3720
Very Intense exercise/physical job: 4097.

FYI, Giannis eats 4k calories a day. Giannis is 6'11, 242 pounds, which is only 12 pounds more than Luka according to basketball reference.

I could see Luka having a metabolic rate of 3500-4000 calories a day but yeah, there is 0 chance he has a BMR of 3500. It's not even 2500. It's probably closer to 2000 than 2500.

Yeah, sorry, I meant maintenance there.

y'all hilarious - if Luka was eating 2137 calories a day I would ask if luka was cutting for a body building comp lol.

[CobraCommander]

I made the comment in the game thread last night that I thought he was hungover.

LA baby...sometimes hungover is actually "still drunk"....

26 year old me can attest to that....working the next day at work in a finance job and realizing at 5pm after a full day of work that I was proably till drunk till noon - AT least

[Deathray]

It's not just his body, if he's this lazy about staying in shape he's probably lazy about improving his skills too. I know that sounds crazy considering what he can do on the court but he hasn't improved his 3 pt shooting, something he probably should have done by now.

[RRyder823]

The BMR for a generic 6'6, 230 pound male at age 26 is only 2137 calories.
Sedentary: 2588
Exercise 1-3 times: 2999
Exercise 4-5 times: 3159
Daily Exercise: 3343
Intense exercise daily: 3720
Very Intense exercise/physical job: 4097.

FYI, Giannis eats 4k calories a day. Giannis is 6'11, 242 pounds, which is only 12 pounds more than Luka according to basketball reference.

I could see Luka having a metabolic rate of 3500-4000 calories a day but yeah, there is 0 chance he has a BMR of 3500. It's not even 2500. It's probably closer to 2000 than 2500.

Yeah, sorry, I meant maintenance there.

y'all hilarious - if Luka was eating 2137 calories a day I would ask if luka was cutting for a body building comp lol.

lol right. My maintenence at age 41 5'9" 180 pounds exercise 3 times a week is over 2300 calories a day.

Luka just playing 2-3 games a week on a 2100 calorie diet is shedding both fat and muscle mass

Sent from my SM-S918U using RealGM mobile app

[tdotrep2]

he was legit quick when he was younger, he's definitely not that now.

[bisme37]

It's not just his body, if he's this lazy about staying in shape he's probably lazy about improving his skills too. I know that sounds crazy considering what he can do on the court but he hasn't improved his 3 pt shooting, something he probably should have done by now.

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

[tsherkin]

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

In 2023 and 2024, he was brutalizing people inside and in 24 especially, he was killing it from 3. Those were, unsurprisingly, his best scoring seasons to date. In 2024 specifically, he also nearly averaged a triple double, which was pretty wild. He was savaging people in the post and in general in the short spaces off the drive, and was notably better at that compared to earlier seasons. And his short middie improved, too.

So if we're being particular, his shotmaking improved considerably. He's having a pretty rough time this year, and it's clearly due to conditioning and injury issues.

[wco81]

It's not just his body, if he's this lazy about staying in shape he's probably lazy about improving his skills too. I know that sounds crazy considering what he can do on the court but he hasn't improved his 3 pt shooting, something he probably should have done by now.

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

HE could obviously improve his efficiency and try to be better on defense.

But I would think he's still drilling on all the footwork he does in the paint, with the reverse pivots, and use the mechanics of turnaround jumpers or soft touch on the tear drops if he can't get all the way to the rim.

Those skills, especially the touch from about 8-12 feet against contest or creating open shots, aren't permanent so you have to constantly work on the muscle memory.

[wco81]

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

In 2023 and 2024, he was brutalizing people inside and in 24 especially, he was killing it from 3. Those were, unsurprisingly, his best scoring seasons to date. In 2024 specifically, he also nearly averaged a triple double, which was pretty wild. He was savaging people in the post and in general in the short spaces off the drive, and was notably better at that compared to earlier seasons. And his short middie improved, too.

So if we're being particular, his shotmaking improved considerably. He's having a pretty rough time this year, and it's clearly due to conditioning and injury issues.

He led his team to the Finals but his knees were bleeding through the tape and bandaging he had over his legs.

Probably he tried to rest as much as possible but he also played for Slovenia either in the Olympics or trying to get into the Olympics.

So just a lot of wear and tear on him.

Like I said he looked good before the calf strain injury, which is a scary injury so he was out a long time before he was traded to the Lakers.

[madmaxmedia]

I really don't think it's just conditioning or weight, he has played more full seasons that most 30 year old NBA players. He'll be fine for awhile, but you have to evaluate his age a little differently because of how many games he's played.

[Shanghai Kid]

Important to remember-.


He just averaged 30/8/8 on 60% TS in March.

So it's worrying but his actual play still holds up.

[dirkdiggler4177]

It's not just his body, if he's this lazy about staying in shape he's probably lazy about improving his skills too. I know that sounds crazy considering what he can do on the court but he hasn't improved his 3 pt shooting, something he probably should have done by now.

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

He did add a mid-range shot. It was pretty bad in his first two seasons and improved after that.

I think it is hard to improve considering how talented he is.

[tsherkin]

He led his team to the Finals but his knees were bleeding through the tape and bandaging he had over his legs.

Probably he tried to rest as much as possible but he also played for Slovenia either in the Olympics or trying to get into the Olympics.

So just a lot of wear and tear on him.

Like I said he looked good before the calf strain injury, which is a scary injury so he was out a long time before he was traded to the Lakers.

Agreed on all accounts.

[guynumber45]

It's not just his body, if he's this lazy about staying in shape he's probably lazy about improving his skills too. I know that sounds crazy considering what he can do on the court but he hasn't improved his 3 pt shooting, something he probably should have done by now.

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

He did add a mid-range shot. It was pretty bad in his first two seasons and improved after that.

I think it is hard to improve considering how talented he is.

On-ball, there isn't much improvement to be made in terms of adding extra skills to his toolbox.

But off the ball, there is so much more room for improvement. He's just like Prime Harden in the sense that the moment the ball leaves his hands, he just stops and watches. He could actually learn a thing or two from his best buddy Jokic. Jokic is also a lumbering athlete, but he is 10x the player Luka is off the ball.

[guynumber45]

Important to remember-.


He just averaged 30/8/8 on 60% TS in March.

So it's worrying but his actual play still holds up.

That's mainly because his 3 point shot was on fire. His actual FG% was 43%, which speaks to how inefficient he has been in the midrange and around the rim. That's biggest issue with this current version of Luka. His performance relies entirely on his jumper falling. Prime Luka could dominate around the paint area

[OxAndFox]

He's just a bit fatter now because he was out with an injury. He always starts the season fat and then plays himself into shape (a lot of guys do that). He was just out for most of this season so he couldn't do that.

Shhh. Let the RealGM doctors work please.

Luka Doncic is a fat depressed alcoholic.
That's the diagnosis so far.