Lakers' Luka Doncic Reportedly Avoids Serious Knee Injury Playing for Slovenia
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić "avoided any serious injury" when he exited Slovenia's exhibition against Latvia on Saturday, according to The Athletic's Dan Woike.
Dončić was diagnosed with a right knee contusion, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
In the third quarter of the contest, Dončić was defending away from the ball around the basket when a teammate inadvertently crashed into him.
The five-time All-Star and his national team are going through their final preparations ahead of the men's EuroBasket. This was the fourth of Slovenia's six friendlies ahead of tipping off the tournament on Aug. 28 against Poland.
NBA players assume some injury risk whenever they represent their national teams. In addition, the timing of summer tournaments means they're either winding down physically from the previous season or ramping up toward the next one.
Slovenia has been careful in managing Dončić's workload. He was absent in a 94-72 loss to Lithuania on Friday.
Still, a cautious approach can't protect him from a freak moment like the from Saturday's game.
The Lakers have presumably checked in already to see how their franchise cornerstone is feeling. Los Angeles' fate in 2025-26 is tied squarely to the 26-year-old, who also pledged his long-term future to the organization by agreeing to a three-year, $160.8 million extension.
Despite them having Dončić for a full season, there's still some skepticism over whether the Lakers can mount a serious challenge to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. If Luka were to suffer a serious injury at any point, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
