Even after getting in shape, Luka doesn’t move anywhere close to this
January 10, 2026
Even after getting in shape, Luka doesn’t move anywhere close to this
50 comments
Yes he has severely let himself go over the years to the point of no return AND has a ton of mileage on his body already from a lot of heavy usage seasons. Not a good recipe.
His individual offense ain’t the problem.
He’s not in shape just less fat
It’s like watching a different player
He would rather slow down and try to foul bait.
Make luka athletic again
Officially blocking this subreddit
He looks like he’s playing with an injury at the moment
Personally, I don’t mind he doesn’t play like this on offense. I’d actually prefer the almost slow-motion, methodical drive to the paint considering how calf issues seem to be plaguing the league.
You just want to see this kind of effort/drive on the defensive end when it’s time to turn it up at least.
He just has big bones
He also didn’t spend every moment looking at a ref it seems
That was his physical prime. Don’t forget that he’s very old in basketball years. He has been hard carrying professional teams since he was a teenager. Don’t you see Luka in interviews keeps saying that he won’t play that long and that at 41 he will be limping, etc?? He obviously can already feel the physical toll basketball has on him. Won’t be surprised if he retires young.
He’s currently surrounded by the worst C&S talent of his career, and importantly its vastly worse than the year that these clips are from. No shit Luka was driving more in a legit 5 out offence. He also gets guarded way more harshly now, he isn’t getting double at half court in most these clips.
A couple months in the summer isn’t gonna get him back to that form, gonna take serious time and work
He doesn’t look in shape, but wonder if he likes being a lil bigger. Seems bigger than offseason now.
There is a misconception that losing weight and getting conditioned are the same thing. I support Luka as the superstar that is going to lead my beloved Lakers going forward, but I don’t remember a single 4th quarter this season where he was playing like he plays in the 1st quarter. Early the season when we had more space and the team was more organized he would score 20-25 in the first quarter alone, but after his first break he never kept it going until the end of the games. I actually remember Austin stepping up in the clutch to close a few games. Luka wasn’t bad, but he didn’t dominate in the 4th quarters.
Look at the spacing on those plays. He gets past his defender and has a layup. Now there are 3 players in the paint every time
I just think we need better spacing. Look at nearly every clip, there’s not a single Mavs player within the line. Even their non shooting big is outside, setting the screen.
Current Luka is not at the same athletisicm as this version, that’s fair. But also, it would be nice if he wasn’t getting double teamed before he even gets the chance to cook. That’s all I’m saying.
Luka is so used to playing injured that he probably can never be fully 100%.
Dude is checking his knees every deadball for the last like 4-5 games.
The fact that he is still an MVP contender is amazing.
That trade did a number on him. His heart isn’t in it anymore despite him saying the right things he isn’t happy in LA as he was in Dallas.
Clowning on Dallas for trading him because of conditioning and now some of you sound exactly like their GM. Luka isn’t the problem
He still looks pretty quick to me when he wants to be, he’s just adjusted his game a bit for the current foul baiting era to where he decelerates a ton
I think his body has more miles on it than his age makes it seem. He’s playing pro ball from a very young age.
I also don’t move like I did at 19
Dude is dropping 33.3 per game and you complain about how he moves on the offense? Sure, he could be shooting better from the 3 point land but he’s been a beast on the offense. And this sub expecting him to do it all: leading the offense and defense, score 40p a night, be a father to a newborn, motivate everyone on the team when some of them couldn’t care less… Come on. Luka is pulling his weight and then some… Nobody expected him to be a defensive giant… That’s when the team mates are suppose to pitch in..
tbh Luka hasn’t really moved the same since his injury in the bubble. I think its lingered ever since then.
I’m hoping he’ll come back to this form in the playoffs.
There’s something going on medically that they’re not reporting on. That’s why Dallas traded him. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
Mavs fan here – his production at the rim has fallen off over the last several seasons. It’s likely that he’s constantly injured. He hasn’t taken proper time off in several seasons.
We need to lock this man in a rest and rehab camp in the summer. Dude should not be playing for 1 summer at least
He needs to start doing yoga or pilates and i’m not joking
Luka did not get ack in shape, man. He lost _some_ weight during the break but he looks chubby again lol. Maybe a little less than when he arrived to the Lakers, but he still does look like he’s carrying a lot of extra weight. His legs look… heavy?
He’s just banged up all the time now. He’s been playing professionally for 10 years already.
He plays through nagging injuries, but you can tell he’s always a bit gimpy the last 2-3 years…
8 years of a carry job does that to your body. It’s not all been bums but a large majority was. Get him some help on a constant base and he will get better but he will never be the same guy as he was in the beginning of his NBA career.
One of the most talented offensive players of all time. Sadly, still looked for a foul on at least 1/2 of those plays.
Luka doesn’t deserve this fanbase. The guy tops scores the league with teammates that doesn’t compliment his game. Look at the spacing in those mavs teams. You have luka for barely one year. Can you at least suspend judgement up to at least when he gets a more complimentary supporting cast?
He also is just heavier now. His body has filled out like everyone’s does from 18 to 26. He’s a little slower, but he also should be a little bit smarter, too, as many all-time greats experience increasing diminished physicality with age, but offset it with increasingly more intelligent play elsewhere and better shooting as they get older. Luka does not seem to be improving his shooting or TOs, near career lows on 3PT% while taking career high 3PT attempts. He still does all the same magical things, but something more has to elevate his game when as physical game diminishes (Kobe was always improving something or adding g a new wrinkle to his game as his physicality declined). It will be on him to make that happen.
You’re saying Luka now doesn’t look like a younger, more youthful version of himself?……..dumb post
It’s obvious that he’s past his physical prime atp, he’s still elite but imagine how good he’d be with the experience he has now. It’s kinda a shame he didn’t take of his body because he’d be the best player in the league if he did
Have you seen him walk? Hes got that old retired player walk at 27 yo
Didnt he have a back injury for a period too?
He grew up. He has a man body now. Someday he will have an uncle body. I remember my body changing my second year of university. I could still play but my game wasn’t high flying any more. Bodies change at the ages he just progressed through. It really amazes me people don’t know or understand this basic fact.
dude do you even watch the games? The guy gets blitzed from the start of the game, they double team him almost at half court sometimes. It’s not his fault that most of his teammates can’t, for whatever reason, convert a 4 on 3 play after he passes. Then we have the fact that most of them can’t hit a wide open 3, that just makes it even more easy for the other teams, they can safely double him, because in both corners we currently just have brick layers employed. Guy would be on 10+ assists every night if he had just one decent shooter on the team. AR and rui are the only other guys who can shoot on this team, that’s imo why they together had the best stretch of games, if AR and Ruis are on the field, they can not double luka as effectively.
Yall talking about Luca have you seen the way Ayton fucking ambles around the court? No fucking hustle
Def not as explosive, but this Lakers squad is such a bad fit for him. There’s at least 10 blown offensive sets a game because a good portion of the role players don’t know what they are doing or where they are supposed to be.
Y’all gotta remember the reason Luka was that nasty coming in is because he had like 6 years of professional basketball reps before he was 19.. kid has a lot of basketball on those knees. More than the average person coming in.
He might not ever be what he was when he was younger again, but he’s nasty enough that it doesn’t matter.
There is probably a few things going on:
-he def getting more coverage now than when he first got to the league.
-he has more injuries now that he cant ever take time to recover from, most his knee.
-he lost weight but thats not the same as being conditioned.
-he has the most minutes in term of usage and that takes a toll on you
He really needs to take a full summer off to recover
Doesn’t help that jj plays players like him into the ground. Look at his minutes. The only reason his minutes was cut short in the Bucks game was because of the foul trouble. He did the same to Davis.
Jj needs to really consider managing Luka’s minutes better and the lakers need a trade that allows this and makes them tougher.
He plays more minutes than any other player on the roster. You haters think he’s got unlimited stamina
50 comments
Yes he has severely let himself go over the years to the point of no return AND has a ton of mileage on his body already from a lot of heavy usage seasons. Not a good recipe.
His individual offense ain’t the problem.
He’s not in shape just less fat
It’s like watching a different player
He would rather slow down and try to foul bait.
Make luka athletic again
Officially blocking this subreddit
He looks like he’s playing with an injury at the moment
Personally, I don’t mind he doesn’t play like this on offense. I’d actually prefer the almost slow-motion, methodical drive to the paint considering how calf issues seem to be plaguing the league.
You just want to see this kind of effort/drive on the defensive end when it’s time to turn it up at least.
He just has big bones
He also didn’t spend every moment looking at a ref it seems
That was his physical prime. Don’t forget that he’s very old in basketball years. He has been hard carrying professional teams since he was a teenager. Don’t you see Luka in interviews keeps saying that he won’t play that long and that at 41 he will be limping, etc?? He obviously can already feel the physical toll basketball has on him. Won’t be surprised if he retires young.
He’s currently surrounded by the worst C&S talent of his career, and importantly its vastly worse than the year that these clips are from. No shit Luka was driving more in a legit 5 out offence. He also gets guarded way more harshly now, he isn’t getting double at half court in most these clips.
A couple months in the summer isn’t gonna get him back to that form, gonna take serious time and work
He doesn’t look in shape, but wonder if he likes being a lil bigger. Seems bigger than offseason now.
There is a misconception that losing weight and getting conditioned are the same thing. I support Luka as the superstar that is going to lead my beloved Lakers going forward, but I don’t remember a single 4th quarter this season where he was playing like he plays in the 1st quarter. Early the season when we had more space and the team was more organized he would score 20-25 in the first quarter alone, but after his first break he never kept it going until the end of the games. I actually remember Austin stepping up in the clutch to close a few games. Luka wasn’t bad, but he didn’t dominate in the 4th quarters.
Look at the spacing on those plays. He gets past his defender and has a layup. Now there are 3 players in the paint every time
I just think we need better spacing. Look at nearly every clip, there’s not a single Mavs player within the line. Even their non shooting big is outside, setting the screen.
Current Luka is not at the same athletisicm as this version, that’s fair. But also, it would be nice if he wasn’t getting double teamed before he even gets the chance to cook. That’s all I’m saying.
Luka is so used to playing injured that he probably can never be fully 100%.
Dude is checking his knees every deadball for the last like 4-5 games.
The fact that he is still an MVP contender is amazing.
That trade did a number on him. His heart isn’t in it anymore despite him saying the right things he isn’t happy in LA as he was in Dallas.
Clowning on Dallas for trading him because of conditioning and now some of you sound exactly like their GM. Luka isn’t the problem
He still looks pretty quick to me when he wants to be, he’s just adjusted his game a bit for the current foul baiting era to where he decelerates a ton
I think his body has more miles on it than his age makes it seem. He’s playing pro ball from a very young age.
I also don’t move like I did at 19
Dude is dropping 33.3 per game and you complain about how he moves on the offense? Sure, he could be shooting better from the 3 point land but he’s been a beast on the offense. And this sub expecting him to do it all: leading the offense and defense, score 40p a night, be a father to a newborn, motivate everyone on the team when some of them couldn’t care less… Come on. Luka is pulling his weight and then some… Nobody expected him to be a defensive giant… That’s when the team mates are suppose to pitch in..
tbh Luka hasn’t really moved the same since his injury in the bubble. I think its lingered ever since then.
I’m hoping he’ll come back to this form in the playoffs.
There’s something going on medically that they’re not reporting on. That’s why Dallas traded him. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
Mavs fan here – his production at the rim has fallen off over the last several seasons. It’s likely that he’s constantly injured. He hasn’t taken proper time off in several seasons.
We need to lock this man in a rest and rehab camp in the summer. Dude should not be playing for 1 summer at least
He needs to start doing yoga or pilates and i’m not joking
Luka did not get ack in shape, man. He lost _some_ weight during the break but he looks chubby again lol. Maybe a little less than when he arrived to the Lakers, but he still does look like he’s carrying a lot of extra weight. His legs look… heavy?
He’s just banged up all the time now. He’s been playing professionally for 10 years already.
He plays through nagging injuries, but you can tell he’s always a bit gimpy the last 2-3 years…
8 years of a carry job does that to your body. It’s not all been bums but a large majority was. Get him some help on a constant base and he will get better but he will never be the same guy as he was in the beginning of his NBA career.
One of the most talented offensive players of all time. Sadly, still looked for a foul on at least 1/2 of those plays.
Luka doesn’t deserve this fanbase. The guy tops scores the league with teammates that doesn’t compliment his game. Look at the spacing in those mavs teams. You have luka for barely one year. Can you at least suspend judgement up to at least when he gets a more complimentary supporting cast?
He also is just heavier now. His body has filled out like everyone’s does from 18 to 26. He’s a little slower, but he also should be a little bit smarter, too, as many all-time greats experience increasing diminished physicality with age, but offset it with increasingly more intelligent play elsewhere and better shooting as they get older. Luka does not seem to be improving his shooting or TOs, near career lows on 3PT% while taking career high 3PT attempts. He still does all the same magical things, but something more has to elevate his game when as physical game diminishes (Kobe was always improving something or adding g a new wrinkle to his game as his physicality declined). It will be on him to make that happen.
You’re saying Luka now doesn’t look like a younger, more youthful version of himself?……..dumb post
It’s obvious that he’s past his physical prime atp, he’s still elite but imagine how good he’d be with the experience he has now. It’s kinda a shame he didn’t take of his body because he’d be the best player in the league if he did
Have you seen him walk? Hes got that old retired player walk at 27 yo
Didnt he have a back injury for a period too?
He grew up. He has a man body now. Someday he will have an uncle body. I remember my body changing my second year of university. I could still play but my game wasn’t high flying any more. Bodies change at the ages he just progressed through. It really amazes me people don’t know or understand this basic fact.
dude do you even watch the games? The guy gets blitzed from the start of the game, they double team him almost at half court sometimes. It’s not his fault that most of his teammates can’t, for whatever reason, convert a 4 on 3 play after he passes. Then we have the fact that most of them can’t hit a wide open 3, that just makes it even more easy for the other teams, they can safely double him, because in both corners we currently just have brick layers employed. Guy would be on 10+ assists every night if he had just one decent shooter on the team. AR and rui are the only other guys who can shoot on this team, that’s imo why they together had the best stretch of games, if AR and Ruis are on the field, they can not double luka as effectively.
Yall talking about Luca have you seen the way Ayton fucking ambles around the court? No fucking hustle
Def not as explosive, but this Lakers squad is such a bad fit for him. There’s at least 10 blown offensive sets a game because a good portion of the role players don’t know what they are doing or where they are supposed to be.
Y’all gotta remember the reason Luka was that nasty coming in is because he had like 6 years of professional basketball reps before he was 19.. kid has a lot of basketball on those knees. More than the average person coming in.
He might not ever be what he was when he was younger again, but he’s nasty enough that it doesn’t matter.
There is probably a few things going on:
-he def getting more coverage now than when he first got to the league.
-he has more injuries now that he cant ever take time to recover from, most his knee.
-he lost weight but thats not the same as being conditioned.
-he has the most minutes in term of usage and that takes a toll on you
He really needs to take a full summer off to recover
Doesn’t help that jj plays players like him into the ground. Look at his minutes. The only reason his minutes was cut short in the Bucks game was because of the foul trouble. He did the same to Davis.
Jj needs to really consider managing Luka’s minutes better and the lakers need a trade that allows this and makes them tougher.
He plays more minutes than any other player on the roster. You haters think he’s got unlimited stamina