“Anybody can be Photoshopped”: Luka Doncic’s new slim look gets brutal reality check from Lakers legend and Olden Polynice

The LA Lakers are ready to transition to the Luka Doncic era. They’ve given the keys to the car to the Slovenian wunderkind, and judging by the way he looked in the EuroBasket tournament, he’s about to play his best basketball.

Doncic seemed to be in great shape, playing a whopping 33.3 minutes per game in a 40 minutes-per-game tournament. He averaged 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and a tournament-leading 2.7 steals per game.

Nevertheless, Lakers legend Byron Scott and former NBA player Olden Polynice know better than to get ahead of themselves.

Talking on Scott's podcast, the former Lakers player and coach pulled the brakes on the hype, stating that he wants to see Doncic make the most of his good shape to actually play some defense for a change:

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"Yeah, it looks good on paper," Scott said (Timestamp: 32:38). "So yeah, right now, he looks good. You know, you're looking at him like, 'Luka looks great, he's ready to go,' but until you step on that basketball court, you know, you can actually see him go up and down the floor, and then what most of us are gonna say is, 'let's see if he plays defense.'"

Polynice, on the other hand, was even more skeptical. He was unimpressed with Doncic's slim shape, and he even questioned whether it was real or not:

"Anybody can run and jump," Polynice said. "Anybody can look good, anybody can be Photoshopped, even."

Doncic has struggled to stay in shape in the past, so it's easy to understand where they might be coming from. Even so, there's actual footage of him not only looking slim but also dominating.

Luka Doncic reaffirms his commitment to the Lakers with latest purchase

Doncic looks more than ready to make Southern California his home for the long run. According to a report by Johnny Askounis of EuroBasket, he just purchased Maria Sharapova's mansion in the area:

"Adding to a recent three-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, the 26-year-old combo guard cemented himself in the city with a new home in Manhattan Beach, located in southwestern Los Angeles," wrote Askounis.

While he's most definitely going to make a whole lot more money in his playing days, watching him spend $25 million on a property shows his commitment to the area and, by extension, the organization.

It's the dawn of a new era in Lakers basketball, and he wants to take the team back to the ultimate stage.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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