Luka Doncic needed a physical reset for his body and mindset.
Luka Doncic Explains Why He Quit Basketball for 30 Days to Lose Weight originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Luka Doncic is entering the 2025-26 NBA season with a different mindset—and a noticeably leaner frame. But to get there, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar had to do something that went completely against his instincts: quit basketball for 30 straight days.
Following a series of medical evaluations in May that confirmed he was fully healthy, Doncic’s training team, led by Dr. Ana Maria Barrio, told him to take a full month off from the court. “Just to avoid the basketball court for one month in this offseason,” Barrio explained. “We let them put the ball away. We just were doing some other kinds of things.”
The move was meant to break a cycle of constant wear and tear that Doncic had endured for years. In 2024, he played deep into June during the Mavericks’ NBA Finals run, then immediately suited up for Slovenia in an Olympic qualifying tournament.
Our digital cover star, Luka Doncic, ready to take his game (and the Lakers) to new levels of dominance. And this summer shred has been years in the making.https://t.co/aB19DY7rrLpic.twitter.com/bjVsf1ampI
— Men's Health Mag (@MensHealthMag) July 28, 2025
That schedule left virtually no offseason. This summer, with no international commitments, Team Luka finally had time to reset.
Initially, Doncic resisted the ban on playing basketball. “At the beginning, it was hard,” he admitted. “I can’t be without basketball.” But the 30-day reset was a calculated part of his weight-loss and body-rebuilding strategy. Instead of drills and scrimmages, he committed to a total-body strength program.
He also found release through pickleball and padel, two sports that challenged his mobility without putting excessive stress on his joints. The games brought him back to his childhood, a time before he was locked into basketball full-time.
“When I was a little kid, I played a lot of sports,” Doncic said. That variety paid off BY strengthening his glutes, ankles, and adductors, while giving his knees a break from high-impact landings.
The result? A recharged Doncic, healthier and more physically balanced, with months of focused training under his belt, is heading into a title run in his first full season with the Lakers.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
