Spencer Dinwiddie addressed long-standing criticism of Luka Doncic’s work ethic, offering detailed insight into how the Lakers star prepares behind the scenes. Dinwiddie spoke on the Buckets Don’t Stop podcast after recently returning to the United States following a brief stint with EuroLeague club FC Bayern Munich.
“Like there’s always so much about, like, his work ethic, right? Like how it’s bad or it’s this or it’s that,” Dinwiddie said, via HoopsHype. “It’s funny because, to me, it was just different.”
Dinwiddie, who previously shared a locker room with Doncic, explained that the Slovenian guard favored live competition over structured drills. He described extended post-practice sessions built around three-on-three and five-on-five games rather than traditional shooting or cone work.
“Luka didn’t love drills, right? But he would grab the G League players, the practice players, the whatever, and he’d play three-on-three, five-on-five for an hour, two hours—whatever—after practice,” Dinwiddie said.
According to Dinwiddie, those sessions served a clear basketball purpose. “Instead of doing cone drills and catch-and-shoot shots—was using these live human beings as cones and getting—working on all his stuff and—and doing it at an extremely high level.”
The results support that explanation. Doncic is averaging 33.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 7.8 rebounds in 37 games for the Lakers while logging 36.5 minutes per night.
Los Angeles sits fifth in the Western Conference at 28-17, despite navigating injuries and lineup changes throughout the first half of the season. Doncic leads the team in scoring, usage rate, and assists, while also attempting over 22 shots per game.
Dinwiddie rejected the idea that elite production can exist without consistent preparation. “Nobody—nobody rolls out of bed—completely just rolls out of bed—and drops 35 every night,” he said.
To reinforce his point, Dinwiddie compared Doncic’s approach to other elite players he has encountered during his career. He specifically referenced LeBron James as the standard-bearer for visible daily preparation.
“I’ve been around the stars of stars, right?” Dinwiddie said. “We’ll start with—probably—we’ll start with LeBron… he’s the only person that like every single time beats me to the gym.”
