LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jenny Craig Inc drafted basketball star Baron Davis on Friday as its first male spokesman, joining actresses Queen Latifah and Valerie Bertinelli in touting the company's weight loss products.

"I'm playing now and I'm taking steps to prepare myself for better living, a better lifestyle, so even when I do retire, I don't have to go through the same thing that Dan Marino went through," said Davis of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.

Marino, 47, a former Miami Dolphins star quarterback, became a celebrity spokesman for weight loss company NutriSystem in 2006 and lost 22 pounds (10 kg), but that was long after he retired.

Davis, 29 said it was hard to keep the pounds off during the off-season.

"You're taught when you're young and you don't have as much money that you eat everything on your plate, so as you get older and you have a little more to spend, you unconsciously order more," Davis said.

Davis has lost 19 pounds (8.6 kg) on the Jenny Craig program since starting it two months ago. He declined to give his weight, except that he is in playing shape.

Steve Bellach, senior director of advertising and branding for Jenny Craig, said the company had its eye on Davis as a potential spokesman since he sometimes had trouble staying trim during the off-season.

"It was certainly a novel idea that we thought hard about, and the interesting angle here is he's really getting into game shape," Bellach said.

NBA preseason games begin on October 5.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Cooney)