Luka Doncic Injury Update, Latest on Timeline to Return to Lakers and Hamstring Treatment Plan
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić is in Spain and is undergoing an injection procedure to see if he can "promote healing" for his hamstring injury, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Dončić's agent Bill Duffy previously told Charania and ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Sunday that Dončić was looking to get specialized medical treatment in Europe to try to return to the team as quickly as possible.
Dončić, 27, was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season on April 3 with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and his status for the playoffs was very much in question. While the Lakers had already clinched a postseason berth by that time, they very much were jockeying for playoff positioning.
And obviously, being without Dončić for the postseason would have extinguished any already-faint title hopes.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama were the frontrunners for MVP, Dončić certainly made a strong case himself, averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game across 64 contests. Because he didn't reach the NBA's 65-game threshold for winning awards, however, he technically wasn't eligible for MVP.
Duffy previously told ESPN's Charania on April 3 that Dončić would be filing for an Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge to that rule, citing the fact that the superstar "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. [Dončić] 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."
As for the Lakers, they have a chance to make noise in the postseason going forward if Dončić returns. Without him, they're in major trouble.
