Luka Dončić Pickleball Training Transformation: Luka Dončić, star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, has added pickleball and padel to his summer workout plan in Croatia. The 26-year-old is training for the 2025–26 NBA season with the help of his personal team: trainer Anže Maček, physiotherapist Javier Barrio, and nutritionist Lucia Almendros.
A New Kind of Workout
The group, called “Team Luka,” reduced Luka Dončić’s time on the basketball court. Instead, they introduced new activities to improve his overall fitness and reduce stress on his body.
“He disagreed at first. But he quickly filled the time with a weights routine that helped him build total-body strength. And he eventually found a distraction playing pickleball and padel, sometimes against friends, sometimes with Barrio and Maček,”
wrote Andrew Heffernan and Ebenezer Samuel in Men’s Health.
The idea was to protect Dončić’s knees by lowering the number of high-impact moves. These racket sports also helped him work on other muscles like the glutes, ankles, and inner thighs.
Luka’s Thoughts on the Change
“At the beginning, it was hard,”. “I can’t be without basketball. But when I was a little kid, I played a lot of sports.”(Luka Dončić)
Although it took some time for him to accept the change, Dončić soon began enjoying the new routine. Pickleball and padel reminded him of his early years playing different games before basketball became his main focus.
Getting Ready for the NBA
Luka Dončić was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025, in one of the biggest moves in recent sports history. He is a five-time NBA All-Star and the former NBA Rookie of the Year. His new training plan shows that he is serious about staying healthy and fit for his new team.
With the help of his trusted support team and a more balanced workout schedule, Dončić looks set to make a strong return to the court when the NBA season begins.
News in Brief: Luka Dončić Pickleball Training Transformation
Luka Dončić is training in Croatia for the NBA season using pickleball and padel to improve his fitness. Guided by his personal team, the Los Angeles Lakers star is building strength while reducing joint stress. He aims to stay in top shape after his major trade from the Dallas Mavericks.
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