Lakers’ Luka Doncic says he wasn’t close to return from injury in playoffs

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic says he never got close to being healthy enough to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.

Doncic incurred a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2, and the NBA scoring champ missed the Lakers’ final 15 games, including their entire post-season run. After a shocking first-round series victory over Houston without Doncic, Los Angeles’ season ended Monday night with a 115-110 loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who completed a four-game sweep.

“I know some people wanted me (to come) back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing,” Doncic said. “If I could be out there, I would be, 100 per cent. Everybody in that room knows this is really tough. This is the best time to play basketball.”

Doncic said he is running and shooting, but he hasn’t progressed to contact work in practice. The Slovenian superstar will probably need another week or two to reach that stage, which pushes his total recovery time toward the two full months that is often required for a return from that level of hamstring injury.

Doncic acknowledged that the disappointing end overshadowed the many good elements of his first full season with the Lakers. He averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds while playing in 64 games.

His partnership with LeBron James and Austin Reaves bloomed down the stretch of the regular season, when the Lakers made a 14-2 run through March before Doncic and Reaves both incurred major injuries in the same game at Oklahoma City.

“Obviously this season didn’t end how we wanted, but I feel like the last push we made in the end of the regular season, we thought we could compete for a championship,” Doncic said. “I think we had a great team. We had great chemistry. Playing with AR and LeBron, it’s an incredible experience. Two great players, and it was really fun to share a court with them.”

Doncic thrived in uniform during a tumultuous year off the court: He separated from his fiancee — the mother of their two daughters, who still live in Europe. Shortly after the Lakers’ season ended Monday night, Doncic announced on social media that he won’t play for Slovenia’s national team this summer because he plans to continue to work toward acquiring joint custody of his daughters.

“First of all, I want to spend time with my daughters, and that’s probably the only thing that’s on my mind right now,” Doncic said of his immediate summer plans. “Second of all, obviously get the work in and come back ready for the season.”

While James is contemplating his future after his 23rd NBA season and Reaves is likely to be in line for a massive contract extension if he can reach a deal with the Lakers, Doncic made it clear he is locked in on the future with the team that acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks in a seismic trade in February 2025.

Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers last summer, keeping him with the 17-time NBA champions for at least two more seasons.

“I feel very comfortable,” Doncic said. “I like living here. I like playing for the Lakers. It’s one of the best organizations in the world, so just being a Laker means a lot to me, and I feel very good here.”