Over the last few seasons, Luka Doncic was overweight and out of shape, and last season, he was dealing with the aftereffects of a calf injury following his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. He still put up his usual impressive numbers, but he had trouble getting up and down the court, particularly when it came to transition defense.

He put in plenty of effort to drop weight and get in much better shape earlier this summer. As a result, he had a marvelous run through EuroBasket 2025, averaging 34.7 points a game and taking Slovenia to the quarterfinal round.

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According to an ESPN report, the Lakers liked what they saw from Doncic during the tournament in terms of his improved mobility.

“The Lakers’ coaching staff, team sources said, was impressed with how Doncic was moving compared with how he played in the second half of last season, when he was slowed because of a lingering calf strain,” wrote Dave McMenamin. “His improvement showed in Doncic’s quickness in splitting double-teams. It showed in his lift off the floor.”

In fact, the franchise and its general manager, Rob Pelinka, was even impressed with the superstar’s defense.

“It even showed defensively, long a wart on what is already a Hall of Fame résumé,” McMenamin continued.

“At one point during the tournament, sources told ESPN, [assistant coach Greg] St. Jean showed a video edit of Doncic’s defensive effort to Slovenia’s coach, Aleksander Sekulić. St. Jean believed that Doncic, beyond his offensive brilliance, was the team’s best defensive player, too. The edit showed — possession by possession — Doncic’s proper placement, communication with teammates and overall commitment.

“Pelinka saw it, too and registered it as an advancement in Doncic’s leadership ability.”

Many have criticized Doncic for his defensive shortcomings, but now that he’s in better shape, he may be able to be, at worst, a neutral defender once the new NBA season kicks off.

All this has led to a growing number of people predicting him to put up an MVP-caliber season and possibly even win the award.

Doncic averaged 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 35% from 3-point range in his first seven years in the NBA. The mere thought of him raising his game and production to a higher level now that he’s fit is a truly scary one.

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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers were impressed with Luka Doncic’s quickness at EuroBasket 2025