Shaquille O’Neal prefers ‘fat’ Luka Doncic than 99.9% NBA guards

Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal backs former Mavs star Luka Doncic on NBA on TNT.

Shaquille O’Neal prefers ‘fat’ Luka Doncic than 99.9% NBA guards

Luka Doncic and Shaquille O'Neal

Days after the blockbuster Luka Doncic-to-Lakers trade, the NBA world is still reeling. In exchange for Doncic, the Mavericks landed Lakers’ defensive star Anthony Davis, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. As analysts and former players weighed in, ex-Laker Shaquille O’Neal also shared his thoughts.

O’Neal discussed the Doncic and Davis trade deal on a recent segment of the NBA on TNT show. He spoke more about the Dallas Mavericks’ motivation for trading their (now former) franchise star while discussing the unexpected move. Nico Harrison, the Mavs’ general manager, made the trade in part due to Doncic’s lack of conditioning. Given that, O’Neal made a bold claim regarding Doncic.

I don’t know — he doesn’t look out of shape to me. I need to know what the term — when you say out of shape, is it fat? Does he have a six-pack? Are we talking body fat? Because one of my best friends told me, ‘Fat Luka is better than 99.9% of all the guards the game.’

Shaquille O’Neal said

According to reports, Doncic’s physical state perturbed several Mavs administration officials. Mavs made the move because Doncic’s “continuous conditioning issues” had started to bother them. When it was brought up, O’Neal, who had previously been criticized for his weight, weighed in on how much of a chip the tale of his stature was for him.

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All said and done, the NBA fans believe that this trade deal was one for the history books. It seems to be a win-win deal for both franchises, with the Lakers getting their ‘next face’ of the franchise. On the other hand, the Mavs get a veteran defender in Davis to solidify their defense alongside sharpshooters like Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.

Luka Doncic addresses ‘weight concerns’ after blockbuster Lakers trade

On Tuesday, Luka Doncic officially spoke to reporters for the first time since his move was formally announced. When Doncic learned that being out of shape was one of the causes for which he was traded, he opened out about his feelings during his introductory press. The five-time All-Star refuted all of it and stated that he would take it as a motivation for his future.

It’s a motive… I know it’s not true, but it’s a motive.

Luka Doncic said
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It’s interesting to note that, with 3,524 minutes played over the regular season and playoffs, Doncic was the player with the most minutes played in the previous campaign. Jayson Tatum finished third with 3,413 minutes. He is followed by Anthony Davis, who was also involved in the Doncic deal with the Lakers, in second place with 3,419 minutes.