Lakers superstar Luka Doncic sustained a left hamstring injury in Thursday’s game at Oklahoma City and will not return, per the team. The Slovenian guard will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).
Doncic’s injury occurred with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter (Twitter link). The Lakers were down 38 points at the time and wound up losing by 43, their largest margin of defeat this season, tweets Jovan Buha.
Doncic actually initially tweaked his hamstring in with about a minute left in the first half, notes Khobi Price of The California Post (Twitter video link). Head coach JJ Redick said after the game that Doncic was cleared to return for the second half despite the lopsided score, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Any type of lengthy absence for Doncic would be devastating to Los Angeles’ chances of making a run in the postseason. He had been on an incredible tear leading up to Thursday, helping guide the Lakers to a 15-2 record in March (14-2 when he played) en route to winning Western Conference Player of the Month. The 27-year-old was also nominated for Defensive Player of the Month.
Doncic became one of just 10 players in league history to record in 600 points in any calendar month. He did so across 16 contests in March, for an average of 37.5 points per game. That run included a 60-point game, a 51-point game, and five additional outings of at least 40 points.
Doncic, who was named first-team All-NBA five consecutive times from 2019-24, would likely be ineligible for major postseason awards if he misses the remainder of the regular season. The Lakers play five more times before the regular season ends on April 12.
Through 63 games (35.9 minutes per contest), Doncic was averaging a league-high 33.8 points, 8.3 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals, with a shooting line of .477/.369/.779. He made his 64th appearance on Thursday, but he played between 15 and 20 minutes in two of those games, which means he’d need to play 20-plus minutes in one additional contest to meet the 65-game minimum. While there’s an exception in the 65-game rule for players who suffer season-ending injuries, it only applies if the player has suited up for at least 85% of his team’s games and his injury is deemed likely to sideline him through May 31.
Law Murray of The Athletic points out that Doncic previously missed four games because of that same left hamstring and was recently suspended one game after accumulating 16 technical fouls (Twitter link).
Austin Reaves, who has been battling multiple nagging injuries, was also less than 100% during Thursday’s blowout loss, Woike writes for The Athletic. He went to the locker room to be checked out in the first half and returned for the second, but exited the game for good in the third quarter.
Lakers losing by 40 …..
I thought Luka was in best shape of his life.
Fakers have had a very easy schedule in this streak of late. Even a minor hammy at this point won’t be good. Could of also just bottled it due to getting their behinds handed to them.
MRI will tell the tale. Legit injured or sook.
Yes, very easy schedule, lol!!! The beat the Nuggets, Knicks, Houston twice (both in Houston), Cleveland, Miami (second night of back to back where they got to their hotel rooms at 5 am), the Wolves and the Magic.
That was all in March when they played 17 games, winning 15.
Magic and Miami is clutching at straws. Did Ant play for Wolves? Knicks been hot and cold. How many of these guys had Fakers on a back to back.
You just named 8 games of 17. Break it all the way down not do half a**ed job. What was the free throw discrepancy in favour of the Fakers during this so called hard stretch?
Fakers were going nowhere this season before this injury anyways.
Last time I checked basketball needs 5 players on the floor or the team gets penalyzed😆
If the OKC, SAS, and BOS franchises – and its current players – didn’t exist, Luka would be looking good in a two-man race for MVP with Jokic. Problem is……all those aforementioned franchises – and their current players – DO exist, especially the Thunder. HOLY crap, they exist in a big way. This is what you get for disregarding/making light of the TRUE powerhouses – there’s only been two of them for quite some time – of the NBA Western Conference during the month of March, LeMedia hogwashes. I see you scurrying for cover, J-Mac of “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” infamy.
Hopefully he can be healthy for the playoffs. He’s been great this year.
Even if he can play, he and the team are not good enough to win 4 games vs Spurs or OKC in a 2nd rd match up. They would need each team to get multiple injuries.
lol what idiot nominated One Way for a Def PoM?
He definitely lobbied to be out there. Cleared is a misnomer. And the coach said he’s good to go let him go. And he can watch himself and they let the dice roll.
Season Over. Young coach. Big mistake.
That’s terrible news. :(
Fat Luka. Dallas wins that trade.
Lol
waiting for YOU to explain how Dallas won that trade …
And your answer as to how Dallas won that trade is _____________?
He should qualify with the exception rule. He may never get that luxurious easy contract
Well, the internet allows for unchecked mental illness, but you GOTTA admit he is entertaining. The over/under on his age is 14.