For those of us old enough, following the Lakers in the last month or so has been a bit like following Oprah in the 1990s, with the gaining and losing of weight generally being the chief storyline. Of course, it’s the waistline of Luka Doncic that is attracting most attention in the NBA these days, especially since he appeared on the cover of Men’s Health magazine looking like a particularly healthy man.

Doncic has reportedly dropped more than 25 pounds since the end of the NBA season, and while many have made hay about the fact that he’s on a new diet and workout regime, Doncic himself has been clear that he is doing much the same thing he’s been doing, he just had more time to dedicate to his conditioning this summer.

That’s in part because the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs, giving Doncic a much longer offseason than in 2024, when he was apparently way out of shape and still led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

Lakers Giving Luka Conditioning Help?

Eventually, the Doncic weight loss story will fade, and as Doncic is preparing to play in this year’s EuroBasket tournament with the Slovenian national team, that fade could come soon. But the Lakers are intent on making sure his conditioning keeps up.

To that end, as veteran reporter Marc Stein wrote on Twitter/X, the Lakers are making a new hire: former Mavericks athletic performance director Jeremy Holsopple.

Stein wrote: “The Lakers are hiring Jeremy Holsopple as their new head strength and conditioning coach, @TheSteinLine has learned.

As Dallas’ athletic performance director, Holsopple was named as the NBA’s top strength and conditioning coach in March 2021.”

Holsopple was caught up in the internal Mavericks drama that saw general manager Nico Harrison replace well-respected trainer Casey Smith in 2023. Harrison brought in a new crew of training staff for last season, which turned into a disaster on the health front, as the Mavs struggled with injuries and finished 39-43.

The Lakers were not expected to make new moves to their training staff, but the addition of Holsopple appears to be a nod to Doncic.

Holsopple had worked with Doncic in Dallas, and a report in ESPN aired his annoyance with the organization for firing Holsopple and other trainers. “They get rid of everybody I like,” Doncic told an ESPN source, per the report.