Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been ruled out indefinitely due to a left hamstring injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin.
His status beyond the regular season remains uncertain.
The injury comes at a critical time for Los Angeles, with the playoffs approaching and Doncic in the midst of a dominant campaign.
He had been leading the NBA in scoring and was in contention for major postseason honors.
However, with just 64 games played, Doncic now appears likely to fall short of the 65-game minimum required for All-NBA consideration.
“This season, Luka Dončić 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,” agent Bill Duffy said, via Charania. “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.
“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.”
The Lakers will need to lean on their depth in his absence as they prepare for the postseason.
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