The Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the 2025 NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, highlighting a troublesome lack of conditioning from superstar forward Luka Doncic that caused a backlash from both Lakers and NBA fans. The Lakers' postseason failure became fuel for the Slovenian superstar this offseason as he took 30 days off of basketball to focus on other sports in a bid to transform his body, mind and spirit. Among them is a sport that is not widely known in the United States, but one that Doncic has made his own in preparation for a more complete 2025-26 season.
Obscure Sport Fuels Luka Doncic's Offseason Body Transformation originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the 2025 NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, highlighting a troublesome lack of conditioning from superstar forward Luka Doncic that caused a backlash from both Lakers and NBA fans.
The Lakers' postseason failure became fuel for the Slovenian superstar this offseason as he took 30 days off of basketball to focus on other sports in a bid to transform his body, mind and spirit.
Among them is a sport that is not widely known in the United States, but one that Doncic has made his own in preparation for a more complete 2025-26 season.
Doncic admitted that the offseason regimen has been difficult because of his love of basketball, but has picked up a padel habit in its stead.
Padel is a racquet sport described as a mix between squash and tennis played on a 10 meter by 20 meter court, implementing the use of glass walls and wire mesh.
A video of Doncic playing padel was viewed over 10,000 times as Doncic's offseason transformation became a hot topic among basketball circles.
The sport is called paddle tennis or simply paddle in the United States and is considered as the world's fastest growing paddle sport, even with the rise of pickleball in recent years.
Related: Luka Doncic Explains Why He Quit Basketball for 30 Days to Lose Weight
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
