Luka Dončić had the exact reaction you’d expect from Mavs leaks about his conditioning

According to recent reports, the Mavericks smearing Luka Dončić’s name has him ready to be the best version of himself for the Lakers.

The trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Lakers was first reported on Feb. 1 and it’s still surreal.

With no rumors or leaks even remotely hinting that Luka was on the trading block, it was a mystery why Dallas wanted to part ways with their All-NBA 25-year-old star. In the aftermath of the deal, the Mavs pretty much drug Luka’s name through the proverbial mud, namely questioning his conditioning and weight.

Questioning a professional athlete's condition is about as harsh of condemnation as an organization can have, especially when that franchise has been evaluating this player for over six years.

While Luka has kept quiet about questions about his conditioning, a recent article by Dave McMenamin of ESPN indicates it’s motivated him to silence the critics.

“Though Dončić did not publicly comment on the constant flow of leaks from the Mavericks organization disparaging his weight and conditioning, one source close to Dončić told ESPN the comments have served as a motivator. “A beast was awakened inside him,” the source said.”

It’s human nature and a testament to his mentality for Dončić to use this as fuel and make sure the Mavs organization and any other critics look ridiculous for ever questioning his commitment to the game.

If this trade gets Luka more motivated than he already is, then that’s a scary thought for the rest of the NBA. Luka is already a Hall-of-Fame caliber player with an NBA Finals appearance on his resume and has yet to hit his prime.

People say the best form of revenge is to live a good life, but given that the Lakers and Mavs have the same goal, Luka can have his cake and eat it too by winning titles as a Laker and making sure his former team never makes it out of the West.

He’ll have his first crack at some revenge on Tuesday when he suits up against his former team.

So, while he may not publicly make a statement about getting revenge or how motivated he is to show Dallas made a huge mistake, he can show us by having a monster performance during this game and every moment he plays his former team.

If what we’ve seen before is an unfit Luka, then in the upcoming years, Lakers fans are about to witness one of the best players in the history of NBA play for their franchise. While that is commonplace in L.A., Luka is so generational that he will usher in his own era of Lakers basketball.

I’m not sure why Dallas would criticize their former star and leak negative information instead of framing it as a tough decision they made. However, their loss will be the Lakers’ gain and if Luka uses it as fuel, it will only make him even greater than he already is.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.