Luka has lost so much athleticism at such a young age

[kingr]

LMAO I swear I thought the video from OP was playing at 2x speed. Luka was looking QUICK.

[Me Like Lakers]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

Well then, sorry to say this, but you know very little about fitness. You can easily "outeat" an active lifestyle, or even an athlete's lifestyle. Luka's maintenance is likely around 3000 calories, you can easily eat that. A large cheat meal is like 1800-2000 alone.

There is absolutely no way a pro athlete with high body mass like NBA players has a maintenance calorie intake of 3k. Hell, his BRM alone is probably over 2k.

[PlatinumState]

The bubble was 5 years ago though

[CumberlandPosey]

It was fun the last 10 years.couldnt last forever.he just looks unprofessional,fat,puffy and bloated,slow and a lil entitled.the king is thinking his part im sure.
If alcohol is involved,and everything points in that very direction,then luka has bigger problems than the simple game of peachball.could evolve towards a very sad situation.

[wco81]

Luka declined athelitcially in the 22/23, he had his best season last year while being unatheltic.
Luka was the best finisher around the rim in the league, incliding centers, he's afraid to shoot around the rim and not trusting his floaters and bankers, it's disappointing, but it's not because of athleticism loss.
His 3 point shot was great last year, but it was the only year it was great, so maybe it's jist regressing to the means.
Add to that the fact that Draymond and Looney are the best Luka stoppers in the league and people are reacting to a GS game.

He looked very good early this season, before his calf injury, which kept him out 1-2 months?

He was overweight at the start of the season but he was fine and the Mavs looked just as good as the team which went to the Finals.

You never know with calf strains, so they were cautious and keeping him out a long time when the trade occurred.

With the Lakers, he’s sat out a few games but now with the playoffs push, maybe his calf isn’t still 100%.

With his size and skill, he can get shots over anyone, from beyond the arc or in the paint. His game didn’t rely that much on athleticism. His super power was the ability to go slow or decelerate, not his burst.

Not sure if he can get in better condition or get his calf 100% the rest of this regular season and playoffs though, maybe not enough time or chance to rest and rehab.

[Mavrelous]

Luka declined athelitcially in the 22/23, he had his best season last year while being unatheltic.
Luka was the best finisher around the rim in the league, incliding centers, he's afraid to shoot around the rim and not trusting his floaters and bankers, it's disappointing, but it's not because of athleticism loss.
His 3 point shot was great last year, but it was the only year it was great, so maybe it's jist regressing to the means.
Add to that the fact that Draymond and Looney are the best Luka stoppers in the league and people are reacting to a GS game.

He looked very good early this season, before his calf injury, which kept him out 1-2 months?

He was overweight at the start of the season but he was fine and the Mavs looked just as good as the team which went to the Finals.

You never know with calf strains, so they were cautious and keeping him out a long time when the trade occurred.

With the Lakers, he’s sat out a few games but now with the playoffs push, maybe his calf isn’t still 100%.

With his size and skill, he can get shots over anyone, from beyond the arc or in the paint. His game didn’t rely that much on athleticism. His super power was the ability to go slow or decelerate, not his burst.

Not sure if he can get in better condition or get his calf 100% the rest of this regular season and playoffs though, maybe not enough time or chance to rest and rehab.

Yep, he also looked good in Lakers uniform for a few weeks, but he has clearly regressed and has been terrible in the last few games.
As a Mavs fan, what was the most disappointing aspect is that for the 1st time in his career, he had a chance to start the season on an elite team that fit his strengths exactly, but he came in a bad shape, and it clearly kept lingering.
His problems are in the paint, that was his bread and butter, his 3pt shot comes and goes, but he always had the paint scoring to balance it, now he relies heavily on his 3pt as a scorer and when it's not there, he's a net negative.
I agree it doesn't look like something that'll resolve in the 3 weeks before the PO, Lakers aren't even guaranteed to be there BTW.

[Johnny Firpo]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

Well then, sorry to say this, but you know very little about fitness. You can easily "outeat" an active lifestyle, or even an athlete's lifestyle. Luka's maintenance is likely around 3000 calories, you can easily eat that. A large cheat meal is like 1800-2000 alone.

There is absolutely no way a pro athlete with high body mass like NBA players has a maintenance calorie intake of 3k. Hell, his BRM alone is probably over 2k.

Most bodybuilders go down to like 2500 calories on a cut, at the end even less, and they have much more muscle mass than a basketball player. A 3000 maintenance could absolutely be accurate, especially since he looks to have pretty crap metabolism. Maybe it's 3300 or a maximum or 3500, my point still the same. It's very easy to eat that on a regular basis. On my cheating day I usually eat 4500-5000 kcal very easily, without actually doing much fast food, if any at all.

[Mavrelous]

Well then, sorry to say this, but you know very little about fitness. You can easily "outeat" an active lifestyle, or even an athlete's lifestyle. Luka's maintenance is likely around 3000 calories, you can easily eat that. A large cheat meal is like 1800-2000 alone.

There is absolutely no way a pro athlete with high body mass like NBA players has a maintenance calorie intake of 3k. Hell, his BRM alone is probably over 2k.

Most bodybuilders go down to like 2500 calories on a cut, at the end even less, and they have much more muscle mass than a basketball player. A 3000 maintenance could absolutely be accurate, especially since he looks to have pretty crap metabolism. Maybe it's 3300 or a maximum or 3500, my point still the same. It's very easy to eat that on a regular basis. On my cheating day I usually eat 4500-5000 kcal very easily, without actually doing much fast food, if any at all.

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.

[dirkdiggler4177]

Dirk was the same. He was super athletic in his first season, and then he drastically slowed down. It did not stop him; he became a more dominant player and was more patient. The difference between him and Luka was the work ethic.

[dirkdiggler4177]

This gives some data on how many calories he burns.
https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=metric&age=26&g=male&cm=200&kg=110&act=1.9&bf=12&f=1

[dhsilv2]

It’s only going to get worse as he gets older.

His bad habits are fine when you’re 18-22 years old where your body can digest anything without any issues.

When you’re 25+? Your body isn’t bouncing back so quickly lol.

Bad habits get harder to kick. But your body isn't going to struggle at 25 lol. It won't struggle at 30 either. Now...you do lose something athletically by 30 for sure. But you can still get yourself into the absolute best possible condition for you at 30 even if you acted like a fool for years.

Luka needs to stay healthy and yeah he needs to lose some weight and be more focused. But his body isn't some ticking time bomb here.

[7seventynine9]

One of the arguments I hate that people make is a player will work themselves into game shape as the season goes on. Even if that's true, they will suck for the first 20-25 games. It also becomes harder to do each off season because the player is another year older. It also shows a lack of passion. Most players who lose in the finals would use that as motivation to get into better shape. Luka? Not so much. Kinda reminds me of Grant Williams 2nd year. Fat, out of shape and sucked the whole year. This was after impressing his rookie year and having a clear path to minutes. If that doesn't motivate you, nothing will.

Fitness is a commitment, and Luka hasn't shown any signs of committing. He'll be fine for a few more years but I wonder how he'll hold up at 30.

[dhsilv2]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

During training Michael Phelps had to eat a ridiculous amount of food to not massively lose weight with the amount of time he spent swimming every day.

I could see players gaining a bit of weight in the off-season, but it just doesn't seem like it's possible during the season.

It's not the food. It's the food + heavy alcohol consumption. That combination can easily get you pudgy even with an NBA schedule.

Two things are happening here.

#1 when you drink, the body works to eliminate the booze from your system before it processes food. So what happens? You don't start burning off the food until you are sleeping and burning at a slow rate. This is also the logic behind not eating late at night.

#2 Regular over indulgence creates a body state of increased cortisol. The body stores excess fat as a stress response to cortisol.

It's not so much the occasional clubbing that's the problem here. It's the daily maintenance drinking he's obviously doing. I guarantee it comes out someday that Luka wasted his prime years as a raging alcoholic. It's sad to see. If he quit drinking, he'd drop 30# easily in a matter of months and be back to what he once was.

This is why he was traded. I guarantee the Mavs front office saw a guy that has a problem he refuses to address. The trade to LA should have been a wakeup call. He should have already made major changes and you'd be seeing noticeable results already this season. The fact that he hasn't doesn't give me hope he will all of sudden get his act together this summer. One would have thought a finals loss would have motivated him to change his lifestyle last off season. Nope

Alcohol is food at the end of the day. The body USES alcohol as it's preferred source of energy first, that's why other sources of energy are used after. But if you consume alcohol within your normal calorie needs you'll be fine.

Now...alcohol is a poison, it's terrible for sleep, bad for recovery...it's not a great idea. But we see Lebron showing he can drink a bottle or two of wine without any issues. Luka can do the same thing with beer. It's all about controlling the calories. As long as they are getting good sleep.

ANd countless NBA players have partied too hard, and drank like fish without getting fat.

[dhsilv2]

Luka has spent a decade playing at the highest level in Europe and America. Age, mileage, gradually slowing metabolism, and bad habits could have already caught up to him quickly and unexpectedly. I think it was Rubio who talked about how he began to feel the weight of his early years in Europe as he got older and had trouble staying in shape.

Rubio kept getting hurt.

[7seventynine9]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

During training Michael Phelps had to eat a ridiculous amount of food to not massively lose weight with the amount of time he spent swimming every day.

I could see players gaining a bit of weight in the off-season, but it just doesn't seem like it's possible during the season.

It's not the food. It's the food + heavy alcohol consumption. That combination can easily get you pudgy even with an NBA schedule.

Two things are happening here.

#1 when you drink, the body works to eliminate the booze from your system before it processes food. So what happens? You don't start burning off the food until you are sleeping and burning at a slow rate. This is also the logic behind not eating late at night.

#2 Regular over indulgence creates a body state of increased cortisol. The body stores excess fat as a stress response to cortisol.

It's not so much the occasional clubbing that's the problem here. It's the daily maintenance drinking he's obviously doing. I guarantee it comes out someday that Luka wasted his prime years as a raging alcoholic. It's sad to see. If he quit drinking, he'd drop 30# easily in a matter of months and be back to what he once was.

This is why he was traded. I guarantee the Mavs front office saw a guy that has a problem he refuses to address. The trade to LA should have been a wakeup call. He should have already made major changes and you'd be seeing noticeable results already this season. The fact that he hasn't doesn't give me hope he will all of sudden get his act together this summer. One would have thought a finals loss would have motivated him to change his lifestyle last off season. Nope

Alcohol is food at the end of the day. The body USES alcohol as it's preferred source of energy first, that's why other sources of energy are used after. But if you consume alcohol within your normal calorie needs you'll be fine.

Now...alcohol is a poison, it's terrible for sleep, bad for recovery...it's not a great idea. But we see Lebron showing he can drink a bottle or two of wine without any issues. Luka can do the same thing with beer. It's all about controlling the calories. As long as they are getting good sleep.

ANd countless NBA players have partied too hard, and drank like fish without getting fat.

They may not have got fat, but how did they perform? The only guys I can think of are Vin Baker and Shawn Kemp, but they were alcoholics and it definitely impacted their performance/career archs and they both got fat. I'm not sure anyone is accusing Luka of being an alcohlic, though.

Plus Luka already is fat, so he's shown he can't drink a beer or two without any issues.

[Johnny Firpo]

There is absolutely no way a pro athlete with high body mass like NBA players has a maintenance calorie intake of 3k. Hell, his BRM alone is probably over 2k.

Most bodybuilders go down to like 2500 calories on a cut, at the end even less, and they have much more muscle mass than a basketball player. A 3000 maintenance could absolutely be accurate, especially since he looks to have pretty crap metabolism. Maybe it's 3300 or a maximum or 3500, my point still the same. It's very easy to eat that on a regular basis. On my cheating day I usually eat 4500-5000 kcal very easily, without actually doing much fast food, if any at all.

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.

[Mavrelous]

Most bodybuilders go down to like 2500 calories on a cut, at the end even less, and they have much more muscle mass than a basketball player. A 3000 maintenance could absolutely be accurate, especially since he looks to have pretty crap metabolism. Maybe it's 3300 or a maximum or 3500, my point still the same. It's very easy to eat that on a regular basis. On my cheating day I usually eat 4500-5000 kcal very easily, without actually doing much fast food, if any at all.

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.

Absolutely, eating wrong is a disaster, you can eat 6K kcals and 2.5K kcals with the same satiety.
More muscle mass increases the BMR, but it's very little and not a factor, it's estimated at 13 kcals/KG, 20 KG (massive massive amount, take multiple years to add), will give the ability to drink 2 cans of coca cola a day.

[Xatticus]

I say this as someone who thinks Luka is the 2nd best player in the world after Jokic but it’s not just that he’s not as thin as he used to be. He flat out looks sick and unhealthy. Just compare how his face looked back then compared to now. Watching that video is just depressing. I don’t know what could cause such a steep decline in a very short period of time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something nefarious. That version of Luka with 5 years of experience under his belt could average a 40 point triple double. That would be the league’s worst nightmare

I think he has a legitimate alcohol and smoking issue. There are plenty of sources you can look up where he's been caught overindulging in these activities during his off-time. I remember this one story from a few years ago when he was playing for the national team during the offseason, he was spotted smoking and drinking beers on the days before important games

What do you think these guys do when they say they're going to the clubs etc? You think they're all drinking spring water or something? You think they don't go out...like A LOT.

I tell you what, for all you know he doesn't drink/smoke as much as the next dude in the NBA, but just doesn't put the work in to get it off. Plenty of sauces where he's been caught overindulging. Stop making crap up man.

Oh what? That's insane. He was "spotted", wait for it, smoking, and drinking, on the days BEFORE important games? Quick, someone call the authorities.
So let me get this straight, if someone smoked before, like days as you say, like on a Wednesday when the game is on a Friday or Saturday, then...what?
FFS guys are smoking weed in the NBA on the morning of games.

What's your point?

[OrlandoDream]

Even fat Luka is still better then 95% of the league.

[7seventynine9]

Most bodybuilders go down to like 2500 calories on a cut, at the end even less, and they have much more muscle mass than a basketball player. A 3000 maintenance could absolutely be accurate, especially since he looks to have pretty crap metabolism. Maybe it's 3300 or a maximum or 3500, my point still the same. It's very easy to eat that on a regular basis. On my cheating day I usually eat 4500-5000 kcal very easily, without actually doing much fast food, if any at all.

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.