Heading into All-Star Weekend, there would have been warranted skepticism about whether Luka Doncic suited up for the festivities at all. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar was dealing with a hamstring injury and had every reason to not participate in a meaningless basketball game.
Despite that, Doncic did indeed appear on the court for Team World in the opening game of the new format for the All-Star Game. Luka played just over five minutes against Team Stars before being shut down for the rest of the evening. The Lakers superstar could be typically found alongside Nikola Jokic on the bench for the remainder of the games.
What was with the approach for Doncic? It was pretty simple to explain, actually.
"It was good," Doncic said of how his hamstring felt. "Obviously, I wanted to go out there. The fans voted [for] me to be in this game, so I wanted to be there."
Doncic had every reason to sit out — but he did what he could for the fans
Doncic missed four games for the Lakers in the lead-up to All-Star Weekend. No one would have wanted to see him truly risk reaggravating the hamstring that cost him those games. Even so, Luka went out there. While the superstar guard didn't play much or overexert himself, he did still make an appearance.
That was good enough for some, but not everyone. Anthony Edwards, perhaps unaware of the injury circumstances for Doncic, actually called him and Jokic out for the pair looking disinterested in the festivities.
Edwards said, "No shade towards Luka and Jokic, but like they two of the best players in the league [and] they not tryna play in the All-Star Game."
That would mark yet another rival star calling out the two Slavic superstars in relation to their involvement in All-Star Weekend over the last few days. This one was far more defensible for both.
Doncic's situation has already been made crystal clear, but even Jokic had an argument for injury management here. The Denver Nuggets superstar did play seven games for the team before the break. However, the all-time great center missed 16 games before that due to a knee injury.
Perhaps the nuances will get lost with some, and the optics will outweigh everything else. However, in a year where an active effort was made to improve the All-Star Game, it was not simply disinterest that kept Doncic (and Jokic by extension) from being a part of that.