Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean believes Luka Doncic’s offseason fitness overhaul is not yet complete, even as the All-Star guard prepares for FIBA EuroBasket 2025 with Slovenia.
St. Jean, who is serving on Slovenia’s coaching staff for the tournament, discussed Doncic’s physical progress during an interview with BasketNews on Friday.
“I think it’s still a work in progress,” he said. “The summer’s not over yet, and he’s going to continue to get better. We’ll continue to see as he gets more in-game shape with some rhythm.”
The assistant coach noted that Doncic had logged his first five-on-five action in “a long time” only one week earlier, emphasizing the difference between general conditioning and basketball-specific readiness. “He’s been doing a lot of training, and now he’s going to be playing five-on-five competition,” St. Jean added.
Doncic, visibly slimmer after extensive offseason work, did not touch a basketball for a month earlier this summer. He is now using EuroBasket to translate that improved fitness to on-court performance before entering his first full NBA season with the Lakers.
The 26-year-old gave Lakers fans a scare when he left a recent exhibition against Latvia with a knee issue, but scans ruled out significant damage. He returned to action by posting 28 points, six rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in Slovenia’s win over Great Britain.
Slovenia opens EuroBasket 2025 later this month, while the Lakers begin training camp in early October.
Source: Lakers Nation
