"If you are a Laker fan, you ought to be excited" - Kendrick Perkins says the league should be afraid of Doncic's transformation originally appeared on Basketball Network .
We're now half a year removed from one of the biggest trades in the history of the Association — the one that sent an MVP-caliber player entering what's supposed to be his peak years, Luka Doncic , to the Los Angeles Lakers for an aging, injury-prone but still superstar-level two-way player in Anthony Davis .
This trade triggered a wave of reactions, which is quite understandable. From speculation that something happened between Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks ' front office to force such a one-of-a-kind move, to whispers that the Slovenian superstar simply seemed disinterested in working on his flaws, primarily his defense and physical conditioning.
But Luka Magic is making sure all that outside noise stays quiet for now. Better yet, he's turning those critics into fans of his work.
One of the guys who criticized Doncic the hardest? Kendrick Perkins . The retired big man turned analyst, like many others, pointed out that Luka needed to step up his all-around game to be the superstar everyone knew he could be. Perkins has always been blunt about it: Luka's conditioning wasn't good enough, his defense needed work and he needed to take the next step.
However, when Big Perk saw the viral clips of Luka looking leaner, more defined and even adding some muscle, he couldn't stay quiet. He had to give Doncic his flowers.
"We gotta start with Luka. Not chubby Luka. Not medium Luka. But skinny Luka. You seen him? He broke the internet today. Luka and the Los Angeles Lakers , they broke the internet today…" Perkins said in the latest episode of "Road Trippin's Perk Unplugged"
"And damnit, we ain't looking at the chubby fat Luka, the beer-sippin' Luka… I saw his jawline, I saw his veins poppin' up. The man is in shape, and it's gonna be a problem this year for the rest of the league. I believe Luka Doncic took the disrespect into the offseason and I applaud it," the one-time champ added with a smile..
Perkins even recalled his time sharing a locker room with Kevin Garnett , who repeatedly stressed that players should take criticism seriously and use it as fuel to get better. And by all appearances, that's exactly what Doncic did. Turned the noise into motivation, just like KG preached.
This is exactly why the Purple and Gold pulled the trigger on the deal. Superstars like Luka Magic don't come around very often. Despite some flaws in his game, the Lakers' front office believed — and probably even more so now — that Luka is the bridge between the present, with an aging LeBron James and a future built around him.
Even though the Lakers got bounced by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs, the organization and its fans have plenty of reasons to feel good about what's coming. Luka is looking more committed than ever and when a player of his caliber takes his conditioning and weaknesses seriously, that's a nightmare scenario for the rest of the league.
"If you are a Laker fan, you ought to be excited. To see your new franchise player putting in that work and taking in that disrespect to heart," Big Perk pointed out.
Of course, this is still the offseason and the real test hasn't even begun yet. But if this is any indication of how things are going to be, Perkins is right — the league better be on alert. The Lakers shored up their frontcourt by bringing in former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and they addressed their defensive issues by adding a reliable, tough-minded guard in Marcus Smart .
With LeBron still putting up remarkable numbers, Austin Reaves continuing to rise and now skinny Luka in the mix, the Lakers look like a legitimate contender in what will once again be a tightly contested Western Conference.
And as Big Perk concluded, Luka is his way-too-early pick for MVP. Looking at the pictures that broke the internet, who could blame him? If this new version of Doncic is what we're about to see on the court, the rest of the league has a serious problem on its hands.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
