Inside Luka Doncic’s Extreme New Regimen: Fasting, Hurdling, Protein Bombs

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic took all the body-shaming to heart.

Shortly after the Lakers were ousted from the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Slovenian guard committed to a new workout and diet regimen, the fruits of which he plans to reap in the 2026-27 season and beyond.

Men’s Health documented Doncic’s remarkable body transformation in its latest issue, providing in-depth details of his offseason training program. According to Andrew Heffernan and Ebenezer Samuel, Doncic texted his manager, Lara Beth Seager, less than 24 hours after the Lakers were eliminated, asking her to summon Team Luka, a trio of wellness specialists — trainer Anze Macek, physiotherapist Javier Barrio, and nutritionist Lucia Almendros — whom he has worked with since 2023.

Once Team Luka determined that Doncic had recovered from the calf strain that forced him to miss 32 games the previous season, they began making the tough calls. The first decision involved Doncic not playing basketball for a whole month.

“Just to avoid the basketball court for one month in this offseason,” Barrio said. “We let them put the ball away. We just were doing some other kinds of things.”

Fasting For Six Days a Week

Doncic, who began playing organized basketball at 8, protested the decision.

“At the beginning, it was hard,” he admitted. “I can’t be without basketball.”

By early June, Doncic was allowed to return to the court, but not without completely changing his diet, which includes 16 hours of intermittent fasting six days a week.

“This offseason, every day but Sunday, Doncic fasts from 8:30 PM to 12 noon the following day. That’s 16 hours with nary a calorie, with the first workout of each day performed at the end of the fasting window.”

As part of his new diet, Doncci consumes only a gluten-free, low-sugar diet, including “at least 250 grams of protein and one almond milk–fueled shake a day.”

The Slovenian has also incorporated plant-based foods into his new diet.

Regimen to Continue into Season

It’s not just his diet that has changed drastically, but also his workout drills, in response to his much-maligned conditioning. Men’s Health revealed details of Doncic jumping through a series of hurdles during a two-day session in Crotia this offseason.

“Midway through this session, Doncic heads onto the track, where Macek has set up a series of hurdles. Luka sprints through them repeatedly, going over them first, then around each obstacle. Then Macek wraps a miniband around Doncic’s ankles and pushes him to shuffle back and forth over a line, torching his glutes and firing up his lungs.”

One of the concerns expressed by some analysts is that Doncic’s offseason habits may not translate to the grueling 82-game NBA season. However, Doncic, according to Team Luka, is determined to keep pushing, despite the challenges he may face.

“You can’t eat nothing after 8 PM during the basketball season,” Barrios said. “Because half the days you are traveling in this time. You are not able to do a fasting 16:8 during the season—this is impossible.”

Barrios added that the nutritional plan doesn’t go out the window” once the season begins, it just becomes ‘somewhat less strict’ to accommodate Doncic’s travel schedule.

Doncic’s hopeful that his new regimen will help him stay dominant for the next decade.

“Obviously, be the best that I can be, take care of myself,” he said of his new workout plan. “This year, with my team, I think we did a huge step. But this is just the start, you know. I need to keep going. Can’t stop.”

Doncic appears poised to win his first MVP award in the 2025-26 season. In the meantime, he’s expected to ink a four-year extension with the Lakers on August 2.