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JJ Redick's Quote on Lakers Being Out of Shape Led to Lots of Luka Doncic Jokes

Redick told reporters that he thought the roster needed to "get in championship shape" this offseason.

Kristen Wong

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers didn't get to hang a banner this year despite their blockbuster offseason acquisition of Luka Doncic, losing a five-game series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the very first round of the playoffs.

In the wake of the Lakers' early postseason exit, coach JJ Redick met with the media for a somber end-of-year press conference and brought up a topic that may have caught some off guard.

Redick told reporters that he thought the roster needed to "get in championship shape" this offseason, as he seemingly wasn't satisfied with his squad's fitness level against the Timberwolves.

Specifically, Redick said some Lakers players were in "phenomenal" shape but others weren't, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Redick didn't name any names, but the NBA world already had a pretty good idea of who he was talking about.

After Doncic's blockbuster trade, several reports came out stating that the Mavericks were fed up with the All-Star guard's weight and conditioning issues. Mavs general manager Nico Harrison has since refuted those reports, but the damage was already done.

Doncic, who recorded 30 or more points in three of five games in the Lakers-Timberwolves playoff series, has already been put on blast for his painfully bad defense. NBA fans quickly resurfaced the Mavs' old critiques and couldn't resist making a light-hearted joke or two about Doncic's physique:

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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