Luka Doncic is back on the floor and running again as he works toward a return from the Grade 2 left hamstring strain that ended his regular season on April 2. Thursday will mark exactly five weeks since the injury, and Doncic said Wednesday that he is feeling good and trying to come back.
“Obviously this is a different injury than I ever had,” Doncic said. “It’s been second time I injured the hamstring this season. So recovery has been a little longer. But I’m feeling good. Working every day, so I’m trying to come back.” He said the original estimate was 4-6 weeks, but he was told 8 weeks, and he has now begun running as the next step in his return-to-play protocol.
Doncic’s path back has been unusual even by playoff standards. Right after the injury, he traveled to Spain for advanced treatment aimed at speeding recovery and received four PRP injections there. He said he stayed longer because the shots had to be spaced out over four days. “Everybody knows that Spain, they’re just one of the best countries to do that,” Doncic said. “And obviously, I talked with the Lakers doctors, so everybody agreed for me to go there.”
The timing matters because the Lakers are deep into the postseason without him. They beat the Rockets in six games to reach the Western Conference semifinals, then opened that series with a 108-90 loss to the Thunder. James said the team was missing “a guy that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and nine [assists] and is that special,” a sharp reminder of what Doncic had been providing before the injury.
Before the hamstring strain, Doncic had been carrying a heavy load. He helped power a 16-2 run in March and had led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game, while finishing third in assists at 8.3 and sixth in steals at 1.6. He played 64 games while averaging 35.8 minutes, then saw all of that momentum stop in one loss to the Thunder.
There is still no reason to rush him. Doncic’s own timeline suggests the Lakers may have to keep advancing without him for at least a little longer, even as he says the hardest part is sitting and watching. “It’s very frustrating,” he said. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I wanna do is play basketball, especially this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing. I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough, to, just to sit and watch them play.”
