Pickleball Helped Luka Dončić Get Shredded in the NBA Offseason

The five-time NBA All-Star spent the offseason transforming his physique — thanks to grueling workouts, insane protein intake, and a little pickleball on the side.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be a huge basketball fan. I know the ball is giant and pumped full of air. And apparently there are no paddles involved at all? Weird.

One thing we can all say for sure is that when played at its highest levels, it's a sport that demands equal parts skill and stamina. It's a grind – intensely physical, never stagnant. The NBA don't want no scrubs.

So when five-time NBA All-Star Luka Dončić was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the LA Lakers earlier this year, it sent shockwaves through the sports world for a whole host of reasons.

For starters, rumor had it one final straw came down to his conditioning levels.

Now, after three months of two-a-day workouts and a daily protein intake exceeding 250 grams, Dončić is ready for his revenge tour.

"Every summer I try my best to work on different things," he told Men's Health.

A combination of grueling workouts, cardio and intermittent fasting has Dončić looking and feeling like a new man.

But it wasn't all chest-presses and protein shakes.

For the first month of his physique reset, Dončić didn't touch a basketball, a demand levied by his trainers to allow him to fully recover from years of nonstop grinding on the court.

Instead, he focused on other forms of competition, like padel and pickleball, which he credits with working a different set of muscles entirely while still fueling his need to compete.

"There were a lot of angry moments, too, when we would lose,” he said of his experience playing pickleball. “But I didn’t lose much."

Feature images via Men's Health / Instagram