Luka Doncic was piecing together an MVP-caliber season for the Los Angeles Lakers when he unfortunately suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain at the end of the regular season. There was cautious optimism that maybe if the Lakers made it far enough, he could return, but it did not materialize.
While the Oklahoma City Thunder probably would have defeated the Lakers even with Doncic, him missing that series is certainly a swing factor. Seeing how L.A. played in March, who knows what would have happened, as the Lakers star thought they could contend for a championship.
“Honestly, I think this season obviously didn’t end how we wanted, but I feel like the last push we made at the end of the regular season, we thought we could compete for a championship,” Doncic said after the Lakers were eliminated by the Thunder. “I thought we had a great team, we had great chemistry. Playing with AR and ‘Bron was an unbelievable experience. They’re two great players and it was really fun to share a court with them.”
Following a 15-2 record in the month of March, the vibes clearly shifting and everyone believed in the way they were playing. Doncic reminisced and spoke to how amazing of a run it was for the Lakers.
“It was pretty amazing,” he continued. “I think the feeling in the locker room was very good. Every time we stepped on the court, everybody was fighting. And most importantly, everybody was having fun. I think the run we made was pretty special. Obviously for me and AR, got injured at the worst moment. That was a little bit of bad luck.”
The Slovenian guard was a huge reason behind that winning month, averaging 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals on 49.2% from the field and 39.2% from 3-point range. It felt like he was heating up at the right time before the playoffs and unfortunately suffered his hamstring injury.
As the Lakers look to make tweaks for next season, hopefully it is a more balanced roster to alleviate a bit of the offensive responsibility for Doncic. While his stats are nothing short of remarkable, preserving his production and health for the postseason should be the most important thing.
There is a blueprint to winning with Doncic, which was shown in the 2023-24 season when he made it to the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks. Hopefully, general manager Rob Pelinka can piece together a roster to better suit his franchise star and prevent workload injuries.
Luka Doncic finished fourth in 2025-26 NBA MVP voting
The Lakers pushed a social media campaign for Doncic to win MVP, but it was a tall mountain to climb, especially once he got injured. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the award, it felt like voters were not sold on Doncic’s season, resulting in him finishing fourth in MVP voting.
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