t’s back-to-work season. If you’re in the upper stratosphere of the NBA, that means you’ve rolled off the Portofino-moored yacht by now—padded barefoot away from the beachside boîte with its rosé magnums and sea-food towers and TikTok documentarians—and headed with purpose and a mild hangover straight into the gym.

Someone who beat us all there, who put the Balkan cevapi down at the start of summer instead of its end, is our cover subject Luka Doncic. Loudly humiliated on the sports-media stage this spring, Luka and his body were subjected to endless ridicule and speculation for their shortcomings after his shock trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. Too undisciplined, too heavy, too unserious about his body and longevity. This despite being a five-time NBA All-Star before reaching his 25th birthday. It’s not enough to be good, was the seeming message. You must publicly and conventionally perform the act of being good. Luka’s months of silence in the face of this braying and financially puzzling (for Dallas) maelstrom—in a 2025 media ecosystem where players can respond easily and directly to criticism—was perhaps the more disquieting part. Was more than just his conditioning under attack? Was he also losing mental toughness?

Our correspondent Jason Gay, in a triumphant story that took many months to carefully broker and report, charts a confident, humbled, quietly seething young man who redirected this veritable body shaming—in perhaps the last arena that still permits it—back into his work. It’s a motivational yarn fit for fall. And it applies to all who would rather show than tell: Now and then, if you’ve earned the right, it’s OK to flex.

Our Fall Men’s Fashion issue is on sale this weekend.