LeBron James is responsible for inspiring Luka Doncic’s offseason body transformation, according to a Los Angeles Lakers coach.
Luka Doncic’s body transformation has been one of the stories of the summer, and it’s led to some incredible EuroBasket performances. Luka Doncic went off for 39 against France and recorded the fourth triple-double in the competition’s history against Belgium.
He’s now one of the front-runners for NBA MVP next season, and the Los Angeles Lakers are in contention for the championship. A Lakers coach said Doncic’s teammate, LeBron James, inspired the change.
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty ImagesLA Lakers assistant coach says LeBron James inspired Luka Doncic’s body transformation
He was accused of being out of shape when the Dallas Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers. He responded emphatically with his transformation over the summer, but the Mavericks weren’t the only ones to inspire the Slovenian.
NBA analyst Chris Broussard already gave credit to James after Doncic got in shape, but a Lakers coach confirmed that James had an influence on his new teammate.
Lakers Assistant Coach Greg St. Jean told BasketNews, “Iron sharpens iron. When you’re around really good players, it’s just like when you’re a coach, and you’re around a really good coach. You can’t help but be motivated to continue to get better at your craft.
“I think Luka’s learned a little bit from every great player he’s been around. And I know he’s always looked up to LeBron. He’s always been somebody he’s really admired. So I think having those two together is obviously motivating. I think it’s two-way motivating as well. I don’t think it’s just a one-way street.
“I think LeBron, you can see, is working really hard as well. He’s up at 5 a.m., and he’s working on his body as well,” he continued. “So, I think our team and our players — it’s not just about those two guys — but I think everybody’s motivated to come back and have a really good season.”
James and Doncic have a thriving relationship, despite reports that James wanted out of LA this offseason in the hopes of winning his fifth NBA title. Now that the Lakers have had an offseason to retool around their new superstar, they’re looking for ways to get the best out of him.
LA Lakers coach working with Slovenia to get the best out of Luka Doncic
St. Jean is also the Assistant Coach for the Slovenian national team, and has been working with Head Coach Aleksander Sekulic during EuroBasket 2025 to learn how best to utilise Doncic for the Lakers this season.
Doncic’s EuroBasket performances have been eye-popping, and he’s been playing with his national team for nearly a decade. There’s an understanding and a relationship between the Slovenian team and Doncic that hasn’t yet formed in LA, and St. Jean is working hard to correct that this summer.
He said, “Coach Sekulic is a fantastic coach, and obviously, he has a great system and has had a lot of success here with the national team. He’s coached Luka and known him for a long time.
“We had a relationship prior, in 2022, so we’ve talked a little bit about some different ways to utilize Luka. And we’ve tried to all come together and put our basketball brains together to try to set our team up for success.
“And we’ve used a few things from the Lakers. Obviously, there’s been some stuff that we’ve used from his [Sekulic’s] book. It’s been a great partnership. There’s a lot of stuff that we’re watching and seeing. Obviously, Luka is someone who’s growing and evolving. He’s getting better every single day.
“But there are things that we see in the tournament, whether it’s an opponent doing it or we’re doing it, that I’ll sit there and I’ll take my notes and say, ‘Hey, that’s something that would be great for us to try with the Lakers. Or that’s something I haven’t seen in the NBA.’”
Having an inside man with Doncic at EuroBasket is invaluable for the Lakers, and they are now perfectly positioned to get the best version of Doncic when he returns to the States.