Charles Barkley once said, “We really live in a world where the 2 best basketball players on planet Earth are slightly overweight white guys. What a time to be alive.” Despite being the lead scorer of the Mavs and a worthy MVP contender, Luka Doncic has often been slapped with criticism for being somewhat overweight. At 230 lbs in the recent season, the Slovenian was nowhere even close to cracking the top 10. However, judging from recent pictures, he may end up turning the words of his critics into a true reality.

The Dallas star participated in the Night of the Dragon event, held in honor of 2018 NBA All-Star Goran Dragic, who announced his retirement back in December 2023. As Luka Doncic teamed up with his NBA rival Nikola Jokic for the charity game, fans couldn’t help but notice that the Slovenian was a bit wider. Referencing how thin the player looked during his previous game against the Clippers, in comparison to now, Jason Timpf was quick to highlight his doubts.

“It kind of got me concerned, cause then I was like ‘Ok, so we’re all talking about how Luka needs to get in shape’, but he kind of seems to be trending in the wrong direction, in that specific department,” Timpf said on Hoops Tonight. The comments came right before the host highlighted the player’s defensive performance against the Cs, stating, “Luka embarrassed himself defensively in the finals. It needs to be talked about.” Therefore, Doncic gaining more weight is certainly not going to help his situation next season.

The 5x NBA All-Star certainly seemed to lack support and guidance in terms of defense against Jayson Tatum and Co. From moving slowly while attempting to guard JT to being fouled off, Doncic and his Mavs roster’s efforts to block shots resulted in Boston having a 3-0 lead. While a part of the blame can be put on the knee injury that the Slovenian was still recovering from, renowned ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst was quick to demolish him, stating, “His defensive performance is unacceptable. He’s a hole on the court.”

Jason Timpf was not the first person to indirectly indicate that Luka Doncic’s weight played a role in his downfall last season. After Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Bill Simmons stated, “When Shaq is saying this guy’s out of shape, you know you’ve hit rock bottom.” Big Diesel, however, never made any claims about the Mavs talisman being overweight. Whether it was an off-the-record remark or not, Simmons certainly felt that Luka Doncic’s weight played a role in the lack of effort on the defensive end at least, if not offensively.

The Mavericks star hasn’t frequently responded to any previous remarks he has had from fans about his weight. Back in 2020, after being directly asked about the criticism, he went on to state, “I will get there for sure. But, you know, I’ve never been a muscular guy, so what can I say?” However, with the situation worsening, even NBA veterans are now urging him to shift his focus.

Jay Williams points out Luka Doncic’s “habits” amidst the weight debate

Similarly to Brian Windhorst and Bill Simmons, former Bulls player Jay Williams also blamed Dallas’ 0-3 Finals record on Luka Doncic. After all, struggling to defend Jayson Tatum at pivotal moments and instead getting fouled out of the crucial matchup would not earn anyone brownie points. “You can’t win championships if you have really bad habits and body language,” and “Offensively, he is prolifically great, but his habits (on defense) are not really good.”

Therefore, the former player suggested, “This offseason, he needs to lose weight. Let’s be honest about it, he needs to be better defensively. He can be functional defensively — not good — but functional defensively, and make sound decisions when his conditioning is better down the stretch. Then, he can win a championship.”

From what fans saw at Goran Dragic’s charity game, the lack of mobility, Luka Doncic does not seem to have taken Jay Williams’ advice. With just two months left in the regular season, losing weight is a ‘now or never’ moment for the player.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.