Photo: Getty Images
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić has been ruled out for at least the remainder of the regular season due to a Grade 2 left hamstring, the team announced on Friday (April 3) via ESPN.
Dončić, 27, underwent an MRI in Dallas earlier in the afternoon after suffering the injury during the third quarter of Thursday's (April 2) 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. A Grade 2 strain typically takes a month to recover from and the Lakers didn't provide an exact timetable for his return beyond the final five remaining regular season games.
Los Angeles is currently 50-27, ranking third in the Western Conference, and the playoffs officially start on April 18 after the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament involving the seven through 10 seeds. The injury will also prevent Dončić from reaching the 65-game threshold needed to be eligible for end-of-season awards, however, his agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, told 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."
Dončić is expected to be in consideration for the NBA MVP award during his first full regular season with the Lakers, having recorded 33.5 points, 8.3 assists (third among NBA players), 7.7 rebounds (second among guards) and 1.6 steals per game (sixth in the NBA) in 64 games.