“What can I say? I’ve never been a muscular guy.” That was Luka Doncic casually flicking off a weight gain comment weighing heavily on him in a post-match conference. It was back in 2021 and the subtle deflection of the hurled criticism showed the world ‘the classic Luka style’. He is not the prim and proper guy who can be messed up with, always making headlines for letting loose his fiery on-court exchanges which often end up looping in the rival fan groups too! However, this time, his casual shrug-offs might not work as his weight gain unexpectedly makes a comeback and the fans are not willing to let it slide past without pouring in a reaction or two.

And we call it a comeback, as this is not the first time that Luka’s weight has brought him down. When the

Mavs were 0-3 in the 2024 NBA Finals, ex-NBA star Jay Williams expressed his disappointment on ESPN’s Get Up, and said, “This offseason, he needs to lose weight. Let’s be honest about it, he needs to be better defensively. He cannot make sound decisions when his conditioning is not better down the stretch. Then, he can win a championship. This is his moment of clarity.”

As of now, that moment seems to be clouded as Luka Doncic allowed a 67.7% blow-by rate which is by far the worst in a series in the past 10 years which only goes further downhill as he’s at the receiving end of criticism for the reported 280 pounds, again.

And it just doesn’t stop with the fans. Luka’s weight gain had been on the radar of the coaching circle, too. Earlier after the Game 3 loss to the

Celtics, coach Jason Kidd decided it was finally time to be candid about it. “Yeah, he’s definitely got a bullseye on his chest,” Kidd told the reporters.

“So, he’s got to be able to guard and understand that we’re there to protect him and help him if he does get beat. Again, he’s carrying a load offensively. They are putting him in every pick-and-roll. So, he’s got to be able to play the game where he can rest on offense and let others carry the load,” Kidd concluded. Things don’t seem to have gone well in retrospect, and fans have made sure to point it out, critically.

 The comeback Luka Doncic didn’t want, as fans blast weight concerns and mock him, despite NBA Finals run

“

Luka gotta be pushing 280“, one fan handle tweeted with a crying emoticon. Another fan couldn’t help noticing, “Why does Luka look like he switched bodies with jokic.” They were referring to the Saturday night game video where Luka could be clearly seen struggling with the dribbles across the hardwood. It was Goran Dragic’s farewell match in Slovenia with Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and other NBA stars on the court. But the real show-stopper for the evening turned out to be Luka’s weight gain, much to his dismay!

Others soon chimed in and were clearly disappointed with Doncic’s offseason weight gain.

“Bc bro can’t stop eating,” another netizen wrote, adding to the growing speculation amid fans mockingly calling out Luka’s resemblance to the Serbian veteran Nikola Jokic.

The superstar has kept his cool in the face of harsh criticism. During the national TNT telecast of his team’s 102-99 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets back in 2021, he had even openly acknowledged a weight and conditioning issue. “People are going to talk about it, yes or no,” he said after scoring 28 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. “I know I’ve got to do better. I had a long summer. I had the Olympics, took three weeks off, and I relaxed a little bit. Maybe too much. I’ve just got to get back on track.”

That time Reggie Miller had also expressed concerns regarding his “plodding up and down the court” and had called out Luka Doncic stating that he “has got to trim down.”

With Damian Lillard‘s intense workout sessions with the Ex-SEAL creating a buzz and Jaylen Brown‘s insane underwater headstand flaunting his innovative workout tweak, Luka Doncic coming from the offseason with a visible weight increase doesn’t sound promising at all! As a 2x first-team All-NBA selection, who at 25, is averaging an impressive 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists and remains an MVP-level player, the Mavericks certainly have a heap of expectations from the star hooper.

Most analysts were quick to blame Luka’s poor defensive tactics for the Mavs loss in the finals against the Celtics, as Doncic was fouled out of Game 3 when Dallas was down 93-90. His defense has surely given him a pain in the neck, but offensively, Luka has a proven record of being a true sensation!

There are also talks of the Lakers being interested in placing their long-lost hope in Luka Doncic while LeBron James‘ career nears the end. When in shape, he can always be trusted and everyone’s in awe of his A-game. NBA fans have a lot to watch out for once he’s back on track!

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.