This offseason, it appears Luka Doncic is abiding by the mantra "living well is the best revenge," and the OKC Thunder should be taking notice.
On Monday, Men's Health Magazine dropped a digital cover photo for their Summer Special edition.
Though traditionally known for boasting a somewhat pudgy build (as far as professional athletes are concerned, that is), serving as the featured athlete for the publication was a visibly lean and shredded Doncic.
Our digital cover star, Luka Doncic, ready to take his game (and the Lakers) to new levels of dominance. And this summer shred has been years in the making.https://t.co/aB19DY7rrL pic.twitter.com/bjVsf1ampI
— Men's Health Mag (@MensHealthMag) July 28, 2025
Since the surprise trade that sent the All-World guard from the Mavericks to the Lakers midway through last season, he has been quite open about his feelings on the transaction, even going as far as to admit to being emotionally devastated by Dallas' decision to send him packing.
Now, five months removed from his initial migration from the Lone Star State to the City of Stars, some, such as The Athletic's Tim Cato, believe this new physique may be a sign that Doncic is using his pain and emotional distress from the blockbuster to fuel him moving forward.
Should this be the case, a more motivated Luka could prove just as harrowing to see for the Thunder as it would be for the Mavericks.
Luka Doncic already trouble for Thunder even before added motivation
Throughout his seven-year career, Doncic has proven to be a major challenge for the Thunder to go up against. In 16 total regular season match-ups, the 26-year-old sports insane averages of 27.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists while boasting a winning record of 9-7.
Of course, this doesn't even include the 2024 playoff run Luka had against Oklahoma City, where he went absolutely nuclear by averaging 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 39.1 percent from distance en route to Dallas' 4-2 second-round triumph.
While the Thunder may be the defending NBA Champions and are heading into 2025-26 with the best odds to run it back, residing just a few spots behind them are the Lakers.
With it potentially being LeBron James' farewell season and having several splashy newcomers like Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart now aboard, Los Angeles already has plenty of motivation to help them gun for glory this coming year.
Adding a ripped, revenge-driven Doncic into this mix is something that could only make the Lakers all the more frightening as a title contender, which, considering his proven track record of success against them already, should end up thrusting Los Angeles onto the growing list of legitimate threats that could prevent a Thunder repeat.