Nearly 26 minutes into his 64th game of the season, Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic suffered a left hamstring injury that forced him to exit early in a 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The defeat not only hurt the Lakers’ standing amid a tight Western Conference race but also placed his postseason award eligibility at risk, as players must appear in at least 65 games to qualify.
Doncic would have hit that 65-game mark had he played in their previous matchup against the Washington Wizards, but he was suspended for that contest. As a result, he now needs to appear in one more game to meet the requirement.
However, according to NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin, the NBA allows an exception for season-ending injuries that occur after March 31, provided the player has participated in at least 85% of the team’s games at that point. Doncic’s eligibility under that rule remains uncertain.
Doncic is set to undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Friday to determine the extent of the injury, per The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
Doncic has already dealt with multiple absences this season. As outlined by Law Murray:
- left finger sprain
- lower left leg contusion (5 games)
- personal (2 games)
- left groin (1 game)
- left hamstring (4 games, including this latest exit)
- technical fouls suspension (1 game)
Doncic remains a candidate for MVP as well as an All-NBA selection.
Timeline for Luka Doncic’s Return
According to sports injury analysts, the average recovery time for general hamstring strains in the NBA this season has been approximately 22 days, or about nine games. This is notably higher than the historical average of 12.1 days, or roughly five games.
The Lakers resume their regular season Sunday with a road game against the Dallas Mavericks before returning to Crypto.com Arena for a rematch against the Thunder.
They will then head on the road to face the Golden State Warriors in their final away game before closing the regular season at home against the Phoenix Suns on April 10 and the Utah Jazz on April 12.
That leaves roughly 10 more days of regular-season action for the Lakers before the postseason begins.
