The Los Angeles Lakers’ season officially came crashing down Monday night after a second-round sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but one of the biggest lingering questions surrounded Luka Doncic and whether he was ever close to returning from injury.
After weeks of speculation surrounding his status, Doncic made it clear following the loss that a playoff comeback was never realistically on the table.
“It was very frustrating,” Doncic said about missing the postseason. “I know some people wanted me back, but obviously I wasn’t close. There was some stuff in the media that went out that wasn’t true. If I could be out there, I one hundred percent would’ve been. Everybody in the room knows that.”
Doncic suffered a Grade two left hamstring strain against Oklahoma City on April two, the same game Austin Reaves went down with a Grade two left oblique strain.
Reaves eventually returned during the first-round series against Houston, but Doncic never came close to full basketball activity.
“It was really tough,” he continued. “Like I said, this is the best time to play basketball. I was sad not to be able to help my team. Looking to the offseason, obviously I’m still doing recovery. So that’s the first thing.”
There had been growing outside pressure and speculation about a possible return during the playoffs, especially after videos surfaced of Doncic working out privately.
But the Lakers superstar shut down those rumors himself.
“I was doing lifting, running and shooting, but I haven’t done contact,” Doncic said. “I wasn’t cleared yet, so that stuff will come in the next week or two probably.”
The injury completely changed the direction of the Lakers’ postseason. Before Doncic went down, Los Angeles looked like one of the hottest teams in basketball and had surged late in the season behind the trio of Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
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