Luka Doncic injury update is bad news for Lakers fans before Thunder series originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Luka Doncic has not played a single minute of NBA basketball since he injured his hamstring 32 days ago in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers now set to meet in a Western Conference semifinal series, questions continue to linger around Doncic’s absence amid his recovery from a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
It should go without saying that the Lakers’ slim chances for an upset of the reigning NBA champions hinge on whether scoring champion Doncic can make it back early in this series. But Brian Windhorst’s latest update casts significant doubt on when the six-time All-Star can
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“He is not close (to returning), there is a whole ramp up that is required when you are coming back from a hamstring, and he has not started that contact ramp up yet,” Windhorst said of Doncic’s status Monday on “Get Up.” “I don’t know where they’ll be in 10 days, but do not expect to see Luka the first few games of this series.”
Brian Windhorst on Luka injury update:
“He is not close. There is a whole ramp up that’s required from a hamstring and he has not started that contact ramp up yet…. Do not expect I see Luka the first few games of this series” pic.twitter.com/IMqlz4WFA8
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 4, 2026
Game 1 of Lakers-Thunder takes place Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, and based on Windhorst’s timeline, the series would have to extend beyond Game 5 for Doncic to have a realistic shot at returning.
LeBron James and the Lakers are more than capable of stretching this out into a long series. But the Thunder are heavy favorites to advance and will remain so as long as Doncic is out.