Luka Doncic

Despite rumors he'd been piling on the pounds during the NBA's hiatus, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has reportedly been "working out diligently" since returning to his native Slovenia. 

ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported Doncic has been playing pickup basketball and remaining in shape for the league's return in July.

The second-year star entered the NBA with questions about his fitness, which proved somewhat true as he wore down during his rookie season. After a full summer's worth of NBA workouts, Doncic was in the best shape of his life but dealt with some injuries in a breakout 2019-20.

Doncic was averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists when the coronavirus pandemic led to the NBA season being postponed. It will have been more than four months since teams played when games resume July 31 for an eight-game regular season. The Mavericks have essentially clinched a playoff spot—they would need to lose all eight of their seeding games and have the Memphis Grizzlies win all eight of theirs to fall into the No. 8 spot—so Doncic can play himself into shape if need be.

It's unlikely that any NBA players are in the same physical condition they were when games ended in March. The league will begin training camps in early July to hopefully get players back into basketball shape before games begin.

For Doncic, the time off also allowed him to heal nagging thumb and wrist injuries. It's possible that he'll come back even better than he left. 

Some NBA players are getting back to work Friday as a number of team facilities reopen under strict guidelines, but those who left the country or even the state during the coronavirus pandemic reportedly must take extra steps before reporting to their teams.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, players who left their teams' markets will have to quarantine upon their return before being permitted to go to the facilities.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is among the players in that predicament, as he flew home to Slovenia after the NBA suspended play March 11.

An anonymous agent who represents several players who have left their teams' states or the country suggested to Shelburne that they won't fly back for the sole purpose of going to the practice facility: "It took two to three weeks for everything to unwind when we shut down. It'll take at least that long for guys to get back to town. And they're not going to start flying back until they hear the league is starting up again."

A general manager for a Western Conference team noted many players likely won't take the steps needed to go to the facilities until there is a clear plan in place to progress toward a training camp and the resumption of the season: "If this was tied to a return to play, you'd see something of a different attitude."

From the players' perspective, a Western Conference starter told Shelburne that many feel it's still "not safe" to go to team facilities given all the protocols that have to be followed.

Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reported Wednesday that players who arrive at the Cleveland Cavaliers' facility must get their temperature taken and then answer questions about how they're feeling, where they've been and who they've been around.

No more than four players will be allowed in a facility at a time, per NBA guidelines, and anyone inside the facility must wear a face mask at all times with the exception of players during physical activity.

While the reopening of some facilities is the first of many steps toward resuming the 2019-20 NBA season, there are still plenty of hoops the league must jump through logistically, including getting players back into the country and ensuring they are healthy before allowing them to join their teams.

If players are unwilling to return to their markets until the NBA announces a concrete plan for a return to play, then it will likely take several weeks beyond that announcement for the league, teams and players to be ready to play.

There aren't any basketball games right now, but that didn't stop Nike from announcing their Pregame Pack sneaker collection on Tuesday: 

"How an athlete prepares to play is a matter of personal preference. Some famously toss chalk, others meticulously mark midsoles with motivational phrases. Point guard De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings, guard Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and center Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury each have their rituals too. Their musts are highlighted in the new Pregame Pack, a collection of Nike and Jordan Brand silhouettes."

Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, is representing mindfulness through the Air Jordan 1 Mid:

The shoe says "Breathe & Center" on one heel and "Center & Breathe" on the other.

Fox and Griner each chose to represent music in their respective Air Force 1 silhouettes, while Simmons' Blazer Mid '77 signifies motivation:

Doncic's sneaker will be available on April 30, followed by Fox and Griner's Air Force 1 silhouette on May 14 and Simmons' Blazer Mid '77 on May 21. For more information, visit Nike's official website. 

Lofty expectations come with going No. 1 overall in the NBA draft.

So, it's unsurprising that an anonymous NBA head coach projected New Orleans Pelicans 2019 top overall pick Zion Williamson to win a league MVP award at some point in his career.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps surveyed 20 people in and around the NBA about whether Williamson, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic or Trae Young is better to build a franchise around.

"I'm only taking Luka because of health concerns about Zion," a Western Conference coach told Bontemps. "If [Zion's] healthy, I think he'll win an MVP. That's how good I think he is."

Bontemps' survey resulted in 17 first-place votes and 77 total votes for Dallas' Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, while Williamson landed 11 second-place votes and 52 votes overall. Morant, who went second overall behind Williamson to Memphis, came in third with 47 votes. Atlanta Hawks All-Star point guard Young garnered 24 votes to finish last.

As for Williamson's health, the 19-year-old Duke product underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late October, which delayed his regular-season debut until Jan. 22.

Williamson started 19 games before the NBA announced the suspension of its 2019-20 season because of COVID-19 on March 11. He scored at least 20 points in 16 of those appearances, breaking several records along the way:

Zion Williamson has extended his 20-point streak to 12 consecutive games, the fifth-longest active 20-point streak in the league and extending his own record for the longest by a teenager in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/BNwlxiWCCa

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2020

At the time of the stoppage, Williamson was averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 58.9 percent shooting from the field.

However, that is a small sample size. The long-term durability of Williamson's 6'6", 285-pound frame seems to be a widespread concern.

"Health. He'd be [No. 1] otherwise," a Western Conference scout said to Bontemps. "Those other guys are going to be great for 10-plus years. There's just too much [injury] risk [with Williamson]. Now, if I want to just be great now? Take him. He's just unique and great for today's NBA."

Nobody hopes Williamson holds up more than the 28-36 Pelicans.

New Orleans is depending on Williamson to replace Anthony Davis, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, as the franchise's face. Beyond that, Williamson could do what nobody has been able to do and bring an NBA championship to the Bayou.

The Pels only made the playoffs twice since taking Davis No. 1 overall in 2012.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was the overwhelming pick from a panel of 20 NBA coaches, scouts and executives who were tasked with ranking their preferences between four of the NBA's brightest talents.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the group had Doncic, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young from which to pick. Doncic collected 17 first-place votes, while Williamson had one first-place vote and 11 second-place nods.

The extent to which Doncic dominated the vote is surprising, but he's the safest choice from the quartet.

The 21-year-old's reputation preceded him before he arrived in the NBA. He helped guide Real Madrid to a 2018 EuroLeague title and was the EuroLeague MVP.

Doncic still exceeded expectations as a rookie, averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. His game has gone a step further in 2019-20 as he's putting up 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 rebounds through 54 games.

Williamson, meanwhile, has been exactly as advertised after finally making his Pelicans debut. He's averaging 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor.

The questions about Williamson's long-term health will continue to hover for the next few years until he proves he can stay on the court. He's a 6'6", 284-pound forward who lives above the rim, and he already underwent surgery for a torn meniscus.

Because he has missed so much of the season, Williamson has likely ceded the Rookie of the Year race to Morant.

One executive in the Eastern Conference told Bontemps he believes the Grizzlies point guard has more room to grow in the future than Doncic:

"I don't know if Luka can be any better than he is. He's really good. But I think this might be who he is -- which is very good.

"But Ja can get better in terms of his shooting, his team will get better around him and he makes players better around him. I think he can affect the game at both ends."

Young is the odd man out to some extent since he's the only one without a second-place vote and the vast majority of fourth-place tallies (16).

The Hawks point guard is averaging 29.6 points and 9.3 assists, and his three-point shooting has improved from 32.4 percent to 36.1 percent.

Young's poor defense continues to cancel out his offensive contributions, though. He's dead last in ESPN.com's defensive real plus-minus (minus-3.12).

One East executive questioned whether Atlanta can build around Young as the alpha dog and might instead have to make him the 1B to a different 1A, similar to the dynamic the Oklahoma City Thunder had with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.