Despite landing Luka Doncic, their next face of the franchise, last season still did not go the Lakers’ way. It’s not that Luka did not score points for his new team. While he did continue his good form in Los Angeles, averaging 28.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 8.1 rebounds per game, the Slovenian’s defense was equally poor. In Game 5 of the postseason series against the Timberwolves alone, Doncic gave away 41 points due to his poor defense.

So, it was not too shocking when the Mavericks general manager, Nico Harrison, traded him away simply because of Doncic not conditioning his physical fitness and improving his defense. According to ESPN, there were serious concerns in the Mavericks organization about Doncic’s fitness and work ethic. Well, knowing the pressure in LA, Luka appears to have heard the noise and has been actively working on his fitness this offseason. The Lakers’ training camp is still over two months away, and Doncic’s physique is already looking slim. But the Lakers legend Mychal Thompson, who is still fuming over Luka’s defensive performance, has issued a strong warning for the 26-year-old.

On July 27, Mychal appeared on the Hoops Talk with Allen Sliwa podcast. When discussing Luka’s fitness and defense, the two did not hold back and even asked the Slovenian to take inspiration from the likes of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and even his own teammate LeBron.

“Yeah, I want to see what he looks like in October when he reports to training camp. When JJ Redick said, ‘we need to get in better condition next year.’ I don’t think he was talking about LeBron. Or Austin Reaves or Jarred Vanderbilt. Or Rui Hachimura,” Thompson said. The 70-year-old also raised that it should be HC Reddick’s responsibility as well to groom his most important player.

“He should just say, ‘Hey, Luka needs to get in Kobe Bryant shape. If you’re going to be the face of the Lakers franchise, you got to be in shape like Magic was, like Kobe was, like LeBron has been. That’s the expectations that’s required of you if you’re face of this franchise.’ And there’s no sugarcoating it,” he explained. “You have to be in shape to do it. Just asking, was Kobe ever out of shape? Was Magic? No. Those guys came in and could run and play all day.” Since the lights shine differently in LA, the pressure is always to win. Which, in all fairness, Luka Doncic understood early on.

Back in February, the Slovenian said, “You come here, you see all the names, all the trophies. It’s a big motivation to be a part of something this big.” Maybe that’s why over his course with the Lakers, now we are seeing a more ‘lean’ version of the 5x All-Star. But Thompson wants this to be an everyday thing. And Luka is not the only one, but Mychal wants the Lakers’ center to improve his game next season as well.

Thompson Sr. put the spotlight on DeAndre Ayton

Being a number 1 draft pick adds another layer of pressure on the players. Plus, when the team already has stars like LeBron James and Luka, it’s even more imperative to state your claim. That’s exactly what Mychal Thompson wants the new Lakers center, DeAndre Ayton, who is only the third Bahamian to play for the Lakers, to deliver big time.

“It comes down to DeAndre Ayton and how bad he wants it [championship]… “Twenty points, 12 rebounds, one block per quarter… how easy is that?” the Lakers’ legend added.

Well, the message is loud and clear: Be in the best shape if you play for the Lakers. Only time will tell whether Luka or Ayton listened to Mychal.