Favorite of Nikola Jokic works out for Lakers, denies using Ozempic for weight loss

During the NCAA Tournament, just about every basketball fan embraces the madness and gets swept up in the brackets, cinderellas, and pure chaos. NBA players are no exception as even Nikola Jokic admitted that he was tuned in, as he showed up late to a press conference and claimed he had been watching the end of an elite 8 game between Duke and North Carolina State.

Wolfpack big man, DJ Burns dominated that game as part of his magical run through the ACC and NCAA Tournament. Jokic came to the podium with lots of praise for Burns, calling him “amazing” and praising his overall skill. 

Burns vaulted himself all the way into NBA draft consideration, and although he is still a fringe draft pick at best, he’s garnering plenty of attention from NBA teams. On Wednesday it was reported that Burns flew out for a workout with the Los Angeles Lakers and that he has several workouts planned with NBA teams.

This comes right on the heels of a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, stating that Burns has lost 45 pounds in the last 6 and a half weeks. Burns of course had a bulking frame during his college playing days, perhaps carrying too much weight at 275 pounds for his 6’9” frame to be feasible at the NBA level.

Charania also went on to say that Burns denied using the prescription drug, Ozempic which is commonly used for weight loss, and instead claimed he has been doing intense cardio workouts four days a week starting at 5 AM. 

""DJ Burns told me has lost 45 pounds in the last six and half weeks. He said he's doing cardio workouts at 5 AM. He told me no Ozempic. He told me no Ozempic.""

- Shams Charania

According to Charania, who attended the workout with the Lakers, and spoke with Burns afterward, kept insisting that the draft day hopeful looks completely different than when he was last seen on the playing court.

It’s unclear how much this will boost the actual draft stock of Burns, but it certainly can’t hurt. We just saw the big an dominate against some of the best college teams in the country and now he’s in the best shape of his life. We already know that Jokic is a fan of Burns’ and the Nuggets are in need of a backup center. Could the NC State product be an option at #56 overall? Why not.