Doncic set to miss at least rest of regular season

DALLAS -- Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will be sidelined at least through the end of the regular season with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, the team announced Friday.

Doncic underwent an MRI in Dallas on Friday afternoon that revealed the extent of the strain, which he suffered in the third quarter of the Lakers' 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

A Grade 2 strain typically involves a monthlong recovery, but the Lakers did not provide a timetable for Doncic's return beyond missing the final five regular-season games. The first round of the NBA playoffs begins April 18.

While the injury will prevent Doncic from reaching the 65-game threshold needed to be eligible for end-of-season awards, his agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, told ESPN's Shams Charania that he will apply for an "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge" on behalf of his client.

"This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory. To ensure that Luka's incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league's end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an 'Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge' to the 65-game rule," Duffy said in a statement to ESPN.

"Luka missed two games this season for the birth of his second child in Slovenia. His daughter was born on Dec. 4, on another continent, and yet he was back in the United States competing with his team on Dec. 6. Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season. His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night's unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances. We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter."

In ESPN's third and final NBA MVP straw poll of 2025-26, which polled 100 NBA media members, Doncic placed a distant fourth behind runaway favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama and the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic.

Doncic's first full regular season with the Lakers will end with the eight-year veteran leading the league with 33.5 points, along with 8.3 assists (third in the NBA), 7.7 rebounds (second among guards) and 1.6 steals (sixth in the league) in 64 appearances.

The Lakers, currently No. 3 in the Western Conference, have already clinched a playoff spot and have a road game against the Dallas Mavericks, home game against the Thunder, road game against the Golden State Warriors and home games against the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz remaining on their schedule.

L.A. is one game ahead of No. 4 Denver, 2½ games ahead of the No. 5 Houston Rockets and 3½ games ahead of the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers own the tiebreaker against those three teams, too, by winning the season series against each.