Speaking for the first time since his initial injury over a month ago, Luka Doncic gently let folks know something we all kinda knew in the back of our minds — the NBA’s scoring champion is in a race against time.
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered as heavy favorites in their Round 2 series against the Los Angeles Lakers. So far, the Las Vegas forecasters have proven to be accurate. They cruised to a 108-90 Game 1 win. And the scary part? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked human with 18 points and seven turnovers. Didn’t matter.
Folks will remain skeptical of the Lakers’ chances to pull off an all-time upset. That is, until Doncic hopefully returns to potentially play Superman and save the day. The MVP candidate sustained a hamstring strain in OKC on Apr. 2. Over a month later, he provided a grim update.
Doncic said his timetable was eight weeks. Well, we won’t hit that mark until May 28 — well past a hypothetical Game 7 on May 18. It’ll be a miracle to see the Doncic-less Lakers extend their Round 2 series to the fullest. If we’re reading the tea leaves correctly, he’s all but done for this matchup.
In that case, the Thunder should take care of business against the Lakers — even if Jalen Williams doesn’t return from his own hamstring strain. JJ Redick talked about Doncic’s first public comments since his injury. He kept it vague with reporters — likely for gamesmanship purposes.
“It’s very simple. When he’s ready to play, he should play,” Redick said. “That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no different from Austin.”
We’ll see if Doncic will suit up this playoff series. But it really doesn’t sound like it. I guess it depends on how the next two games go. If the Thunder go up 3-0, there’s no point in risking his long-term health with the final result already decided. And even if he does pull off a comeback, he won’t be anywhere near the capacity to make a serious dent in this series.
Any hopeless optimism was washed away with Doncic’s words. The Thunder still need to get three more wins, but they have a cupcake walk to the Western Conference Finals as the Lakers struggle to reach the century mark in points without their best player.
“It’s very simple. It’s, when he’s ready to play, he should play. That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no different from Austin [Reaves]” – JJ Redick was asked about how the team is balancing Luka’s urge to return, while also protecting him from further damage pic.twitter.com/vEBmmapnZ4
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 6, 2026
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Lakers’ JJ Redick comments on Luka Doncic’s latest injury update