The news that every Los Angeles Lakers fan had been dreading since Thursday night is here — ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Luka Dončić is out for the remainder of the regular season, and that "his status is uncertain beyond that." The team said that it's a Grade 2 strain, meaning he could be out for 3 to 6 weeks, if not longer than that
In other words, Luka may not play in another game for the Lakers this season, and you know what? He shouldn't.
It doesn't matter if he's cleared to return in three weeks (around April 24), which would be roughly a week into the beginning of the first round. By that point, Los Angeles could face a deficit that it wouldn't even be worth Dončić trying to return for, but even if there's a chance, he doesn't need to risk irritating his hamstring even further.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is out indefinitely due to a left hamstring injury, sources tell me and @mcten. He will miss the remainder of the regular season and his status is uncertain beyond that. pic.twitter.com/qQTVAfPpWB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2026
Luka Doncic shouldn't suit up for the Lakers again this season
Unfortunately, there is a theme in the NBA: players returning too soon from hamstring injuries, or, when they do return, not taking proper precautions to avoid reinjury.
Look at Aaron Gordon and the Nuggets. Denver played him in the second half of a back-to-back for the second time in a short span in January, after he returned from a hamstring strain, leading to a reinjury and several more weeks missed. That was just in the regular season.
Physicality and intensity ramp up in the playoffs, so it'd be the equivalent of throwing Luka into the fire. He's no stranger to the postseason, but still, you can't mess around with soft-tissue injuries like that.
As thrilling as the past few weeks have been in Lakerland, Los Angeles has to accept that when it comes to Dončić, he needs to be in the best possible shape for next season. He can't be put in a position where the injury could worsen, not just affecting how he approaches the offseason but maybe even becoming a nagging issue for him in the future.
It's unfair that the injury robbed Luka of riding the Lakers' momentum he created into the playoffs (and missing All-NBA), but it's about the long-term picture. Los Angeles is approaching what should be a busy offseason, helping to set the future around the 27-year-old. The best is yet to come, so there's absolutely no need they should be willing to push him past his limits now.