How Luka Doncic injury impacts Lakers' NBA playoff scenarios

Apr 3, 2026 - 22:00

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How Luka Doncic injury impacts Lakers' NBA playoff scenarios

The Los Angeles Lakers, at the worst possible time, caught a bad break with their biggest star.

All-Star guard and Most Valuable Player candidate Luka Dončić, suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury in a blowout loss against the Thunder on Thursday, April 2, potentially putting his award eligibility – and the Lakers' dreams of a deep postseason run – in jeopardy.

Dončić is set to an undergo an MRI to evaluate the severity of the injury.

Thursday night’s game against Oklahoma City was his 64th of the season, putting him one shy of the minimum required for consideration for MVP, All-NBA selection and other individual honors. This means Dončić needs to play in at least one of Los Angeles’ remaining five games to become eligible. Meanwhile, the Lakers are still battling for seeding in the Western Conference in the final games of the season.

Dončić finished the game with 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting, including a sluggish 1-of-7 from 3-point range. He added 7 assists and 4 rebounds. The injury comes just days after he scored 600 points in March, marking just the 10th time in NBA history that a player has reached that level of production in any month.

What does Luka Dončić’s injury mean for the Lakers?

This comes as a blow for Los Angeles, which had gone 15-2 in March and had climbed to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. With Thursday’s loss against the Thunder, however, L.A.’s hold of the third-seed over the Nuggets shrunk to just 1 game. Denver, meanwhile, is on a seven-game winning streak.

The Lakers have gone 7-6 this season in games Dončić has been sidelined and he has become the team’s premier and most reliable offensive force. In his absence, Austin Reaves and LeBron James will have to step up considerably.