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Luka Week: How Dončić Dominated the Spotlight From Coast to Coast
(New York Yankees / Getty Images)
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Dončić’s media tour this week was a masterful marketing campaign by WME and Jordan Brand that shows his “face-of-the-league” potential.
Not a whole lot generally goes on in the NBA during the last week of July in a non-Olympic year, which is why it was the perfect time for WME to put together a comprehensive media plan that would guarantee that its top hoops client would be the talk of the basketball universe just in time for a certain contractual date.
Luka Dončić was everywhere this week, promoting Jordan Brand‘s 1-on-1 tournament “The One,” his signature Jordan sneaker, and his new summer body leading up to the Aug. 2 date where the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million extension, six months to the day following his unfathomable blockbuster trade from the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 2.
The biggest reason the 26-year-old Slovenian is even a Laker at all right now was reportedly his conditioning, his diet, and how he treated his body. It’s likely why Dončić‘s media blitz this week began Monday with a shocking Men’s Healthdigital cover featuring a stunning shredded physique with the headline: “Luka Dončić muscles up: The skinny on the Laker star’s summer shred.” The article details twice-daily training and conditioning sessions in Croatia while adhering to a protein-heavy, gluten-free, low-sugar diet that saw him fast daily from 8:30 p.m. until noon the next day.
Monday night, Luka was front and center in New York City as he hung out with fellow Jordan Brand athletes Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm in the Bronx before the New York Yankees took on the Tampa Bay Rays.
Luka then went up to the YES Network booth for a full inning conversation with broadcasters Michael Kay and David Cone.
“I need a fresh start after everything that happened,” Dončić said. “Nobody expected it. It was a shock for everybody, and for me even more.”
He added that LeBron James and the Lakers welcomed him with open arms and that when he hit the gym for a month after the season, he didn’t touch a basketball for a month, playing sports like padel and tennis. Every kid dreams about having his own shoe, Luka continued, fulfilling the main obligation for his nationwide tour, adding that he was so nervous when he first met Michael Jordan that he didn’t remember what he said.
It wouldn’t be a summer hoops visit in New York without a trip to one of the city’s legendary outdoor courts, and Dončić pulled up to Dyckman Park in uptown Manhattan Tuesday night, hitting a trick shot from the stands to the crowd’s delight.
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Luka was up bright and early Wednesday morning for an appearance on the Today Show, where they put up before and after pictures of how he transformed his body just in the last few months. When asked about the criticism he faced for being out of shape, Dončić said he tries not to read much and focus on outside opinions.
“I think I was still a pretty good basketball player,” he said, “no matter what people say. At the end, I’m still 26 and I have a long way to go.”
When the conversation circled back around to him potentially signing the aforementioned $229 million extension, Dončić gave a bright smile and said he didn’t know what they were talking about. Hopefully, he doesn’t play poker, because he would quickly lose a lot of the huge payday he’s about to receive. He then claimed that off the court, he’s the opposite of how he is on it, a quiet, chill guy who loves Broadway musicals like Mama Mia!
Dončić concluded the New York portion of his tour with an appearance at the NBA Store before heading to Chicago, where he joined the boys and girls basketball teams from the local Kenwood Academy high school on a boat cruise down the Chicago River. He also paid a surprise visit to Project Swish, a series of free basketball leagues held throughout the city to empower inner city youth. Friday, he’ll be on hand in Chicago for more action at The One tournament, where top 15-18-year-old players compete against each other for the ultimate prize.
Had an amazing day today with Kenwood Academy girl's basketball — laughs, good vibes, and topped it all off by meeting Luka Dončić. Thank you Jordan Brand for setting this event up! pic.twitter.com/Jqu9cJy2tp
Dončić then heads back to his new home base of Los Angeles, where he’ll make more appearances and conduct more interviews as he, WME, and Jordan Brand continue to showcase the new and improved Luka to the world. This media tour has been like a clearout play on the court, where everyone steps away from the lane to let the biggest star cook one-on-one as he drives toward the basket.
With nothing else really going on in NBA circles as July flipped to August, Luka Week was more than just a masterful marketing campaign. It provided a brief glimpse at what it would look like if Dončić were the face of the league, a player with the slimmed-down physique ready to prove to the world that he has what it takes to emerge as the best player on the planet.
