The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the second round and managed to do so without Luka Doncic, who continues his rehab for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain.
Doncic has been making progress in his return to play process but will still miss the start of the second round against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Although Los Angeles desperately needs Doncic in order to advance, it appears he is still a ways away from returning to the court.
“I’m told right now, Luka Doncic will be out to start this series against the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Shams Charania reported on ESPN’s pregame show. “The Lakers are evaluating Doncic on a week-to-week basis with that Grade 2 hamstring strain. So he’s missed about a month right now. One source told me in the last few days, it’s still a slow path on Doncic’s recovery. He’s doing more and more on the court, but right now still not full fledged running or full contact workouts.”
Doncic dealt with a nagging hamstring throughout the 2025-26 season, so he and the Lakers have every reason to be overly cautious as he ramps back up for basketball activities. It’s a tough reality to swallow given how well Doncic was playing to close out the regular season, but jeopardizing his health to try and advance past the Thunder would be a terrible decision.
If it were another type of injury, there would likely be more willingness to let Doncic play but right now the priority should be for next season and beyond. Oklahoma City swept the Phoenix Suns and has had ample rest, so rushing the 27-year-old back might not even move the needle as much as the team would hope.
In theory, Doncic could return at some point in the series if Los Angeles manages to steal a couple of games, but that’s far easier said than done. Even if the most likely outcome is a second round exit, the Lakers should feel proud of what they’ve accomplished thus far and protect Doncic from hurting himself further.
JJ Redick disappointed Luka Doncic wasn’t NBA MVP finalists
Doncic made a strong case for MVP after leading the Lakers to a 53-29 record and winning the scoring title. However, that wasn’t enough to be included on the MVP finalists list that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola
Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
Head coach JJ Redick praised Doncic for the season he had and expressed his disappointment that the star wasn’t named a finalist.
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