Lakers' Luka Doncic Rips 'Disrespectful' Critics, 'I Worked My Ass Off To Be Here'

Luka Dončić was "stung" by reports that the Dallas Mavericks had questioned his work ethic before trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dan Woike reported for the Los Angeles Times.

"They have no idea," Dončić told Woike. "… I didn’t end up here by mistake. You know? I worked my ass off to be here.

"So it’s kinda, I would say, disrespectful, just sad that people say that.”

At the time of the Feb. 2 trade, Dončić had not played since suffering a calf strain on Christmas Day.

Woike reported that "people close to the team have praised Dončić for his work to get healthy" and that the star has "been a constant presence at the optional workouts" since the trade.

That work has been taking place with Javier Barrio and Anze Macek, medical staff members who came to Los Angeles alongside Dončić, according to Woike.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon previously reported that Dončić first hired Maček and Barrio after the Mavericks fired multiple team health and performance professionals as part of an effort to encourage Dončić to improve his conditioning.

Maček and Barrio were then hired and paid by Dončić himself as his "body team" ahead of the 2023-24 season, according to Shelburne and MacMahon.

Barrio had experience working with Dončić at Real Madrid, while Maček came from the Slovenian national team, per Woike.

MacMahon was one of the first reporters to connect the Mavericks trade to Dončić's conditioning, reporting that the team had been concerned about it minutes after the trade broke on Feb. 2.

MacMahon and Shelburne then reported that Dončić weighed in at 255 pounds when undergoing an MRI on his calf in January and that the Mavericks "considered his ideal weight to be 245."

When asked about the criticism regarding his conditioning shortly after the trade in February, Dončić told reporters: “It’s a motive. I know it’s not true, but it’s a motive. It’s a big motive for a long run here.”

According to Woike, both Dončić and his new team "acknowledge there are ways to get the most out of him," primarily by allowing him to focus practice on competitions rather than drills.

After playing limited minutes in his first few games with the Lakers, Dončić has averaged 28.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists through his last 23 games with the team while sitting out two contests over the stretch.

He will be looking for another big showing against his former team when the Lakers meet up with Anthony Davis and the Mavericks on Wednesday night in Dallas.