Key Takeaways
- Luka Dončić dropped over 20 pounds this offseason to improve longevity and explosiveness for the 2025–26 season.
- Experts praise the structured approach but caution against overtraining, under-fueling, and soft tissue strain.
- Proper nutrition, strength training, and recovery protocols are essential for a sustainable transformation.
Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić has transformed his body this offseason, losing serious weight to get in better shape for the 2025-26 campaign. Dončić has been doing two-day workouts in Croatia this summer to gear up for his first full season in Purple and Gold, prioritizing health to help with longevity and performance, as Men’s Health recently revealed in an exclusive on Doncic’s fitness journey. The Lakers also just rewarded their new franchise cornerstone with a massive three-year, $165 million contract extension.
Several health experts told RG.org about the benefits, risks, and the healthy timeline for athletes for such rapid weight loss. Dončić looks like a completely different person in just a matter of months, which means he dropped a lot of pounds in a short period. While being slightly overweight never affected his performance, Luka has been heavily criticized in the past for his physical state.
At just 26 years old, Dončić still has many years left in the Association. Cutting weight will certainly help him play at a higher level for longer, as all the experts we talked to discussed.
Physical Benefits of Dončić Losing Rapid Weight
There’s no question that weight loss can change your body in a variety of ways. When it comes to a high-level athlete like Dončić who plays 30-40 minutes per night across an 82-game season, staying lean, strong, and agile are also crucial. What tends to happen sometimes when anyone loses a lot of body mass is the loss of muscle.
However, that’s not always the case. As competitive bodybuilder Brendan Pearl explained, cutting substantial amounts of weight can be beneficial if you’re doing it the right way. But, that’s the key for Dončić, who needs to stay explosive as a guard.
“As someone who’s gone through extreme body transformations to compete at a national level, I’ve learned firsthand how dramatic fat loss — when done right — can improve stamina, reduce inflammation, and enhance mobility.
For an elite athlete like Dončić, the challenge isn’t just getting leaner — it’s staying explosive, durable, and mentally sharp under pressure. When managed with structure and precision, a transformation like this can absolutely extend an athlete’s prime.”
Aside from increased performance, cutting down to a lighter body weight is beneficial in decreasing the risk of injury, as all the experts alluded to. Dončić has had trouble with health in the past, missing a lot of last season due to an ankle injury. His new-look body can help take stress off the joints, especially the knees and ankles, which deal with heavy workloads in the NBA.
Nicholas Jones, Founder & Medical Director of Nip & Tuck Plastic Surgery, discussed this topic in his response.
“Significant weight loss for a superstar NBA guard like Luka Dončić offers several physiological benefits. Every pound lost reduces joint loading by roughly four pounds per step, which can dramatically decrease the cumulative stress load on his knees and ankles over the long NBA season. This translates to better lateral quickness, improved stamina, and reduces the likelihood of overuse injuries that often plague players logging heavy minutes.”
Potential Risks/Trade-Offs of Dončić’s Weight Loss Journey
Anything positive comes with risks. Luka has been training religiously to get in tip-top shape, but the body takes time to adapt to its new state. Shweta Shinde, a pharmaceutical professional explained that if lean muscle isn’t retained during the weight loss process, it can affect Dončić’s game in terms of balance and coordination when it comes to his shooting.
“Very fast fat loss without adequate strength retention will cause a person to lose lean muscle mass, which will diminish explosive power and shooting stability. Balance and coordination may also be disrupted all of a sudden because the body is adapting to a new center of mass. Disruptions in hormones may affect their recovery and energy, and resistance to injury. Aggressive weight loss periods and overtraining of connective tissues bring about more strain. In professional sportsmen, it is a progressive change so as not to lose top performance.”
Although the risk of injury decreases due to a lighter body composition, the opposite can also happen if weight loss is too drastic. It can sometimes increase the possibility of getting injured, again, if there isn’t enough muscle gain during the process, actually putting more stress on the joints.
Dr. Lim Baoying, a sports physician, spoke on this potential trade-off.
“Soft tissues (ligaments and tendons) might not have enough time to adapt to the lighter, more dynamic body structure, increasing injury risk temporarily.”
Amy Chow, a registered dietician and the CEO for BC Dietitians, explained how the restriction of calories can also leave an athlete depleted of energy:
“Over time, undereating paired with high-intensity training can lead to relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs). REDs in both male and female athletes happen when the body doesn’t get enough energy (calories) to support both daily life and training. Over time, this energy mismatch can lead to hormonal changes, reduced bone density, slower recovery, frequent injuries, and changes in mood, sleep, or digestion.Rapid weight loss increases the risk of muscle loss. This is why gradual weight loss is ideal for athletes who are looking to maximize fat loss and muscle maintenance.”
Healthy Timeline For Weight Loss
Generally, it’s required to lose 1-2 lbs of weight per week. That’s considered healthy. Luka reportedly cut more than 20 pounds this summer to become the best version of himself on the hardwood. Dončić actually had ample time to get in great shape – the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and on May 1, he made it clear to his manager that he wanted to focus on fitness over the next four months.
Doncic didn’t touch a basketball for all of May and instead focused on his body. The general consensus with all the experts we spoke to is that in order to lose weight at a consistent, sustainable rate, you usually need around 3-6 months. He was closer to the three-month mark with his routine.
Bao laid out the steps to follow for an athlete:
“At least 3 to 6 months for a sustainable, performance-safe transformation. Methodology must be holistic and cover all these aspects.
Nutrition: High-protein, macro-nutrient and caloric-balanced diet. Training: Strength maintenance focused rather than hypertrophy; prioritize neuromuscular coordination. Recovery: Emphasize sleep, hydration, active recovery modalities in between training sessions. Monitoring: Use DEXA scans, regular strength and power testing, heart rate variability tracking and RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) tracking to ensure performance is stable or improving.”
Dončić was reportedly eating two protein-focused meals per day and an almond-based protein shake as well. Protein is crucial when looking to drop weight and build muscle simultaneously. The Slovenian was also eating zero gluten and minimal sugar. Chow pointed out how enough protein can help minimize the substraction of lean muscle in the fat loss process.
“People can minimize muscle loss by focusing on getting enough protein each day (ie. a minimum goal of 2g protein/kg/d), paired with consistent resistance training.”
Luka Dončić is looking phenomenal, and while there are risks of his transformation, the Lakers guard is working with the best of the best. Only time will tell if the new version of Doncic can help propel Los Angeles to an NBA championship in 2026.
