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The Los Angeles Lakers’ championship hopes just took a big hit.
NBA scoring leader Luka Dončić will miss the remainder of the regular season with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, the team announced Friday.
It is unclear what his status is for the postseason.
Dončić was the main reason the Lakers climbed into third place in the Western Conference standings. But an injury to his leg during Los Angeles’ blowout loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday has cleared it all up after an MRI scan revealed the severity of the strain.
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Lakers coach JJ Redick said Dončić was injured in the first half against the Thunder but was cleared to return to the game as his team was swept by the defending NBA champion Thunder.
Dončić only lasted about four minutes before he spun, stopped and went down on the pitch in pain, leading to his departure.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić controls the ball against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at the Kia Center on March 21, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
The Lakers acquired Dončić in a surprising and controversial trade in February 2025, when the Dallas Mavericks sent the Latvian superstar along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to LA in exchange for 31-year-old Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The move left many fans and pundits puzzled, believing the trade was skewed in favor of the Lakers.
The Pacific Division champion Lakers (50-27) have just five games left before the postseason, starting Sunday at Dallas.
Grade 2 hamstring strains sometimes require several weeks of recovery, but Dončić also has previous experience with hamstring problems. He missed four games just before the All-Star break with another left hamstring strain, but returned to the lineup after the break.
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Guard Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a bad call in the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Nov. 25, 2025. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News/Getty Images)
Dončić is putting up spectacular numbers in his first full season with the Lakers, who acquired the Slovenian superstar from the Mavericks last season.
He is averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game for Los Angeles and was named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Month for March after posting 13 consecutive 30-point performances, including seven 40-point games, a 51-point barrage against Miami-Chicago and a 60-point masterclass.
Dončić scored 600 points in March, becoming just the 10th player in NBA history to reach that mark in a single month. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves have also played well down the stretch, the Lakers rely on Dončić, who either scored or assisted on 58% of their total points in March.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić controls the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 8, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
The Lakers’ regular season finale is next Sunday, April 12 at home against Utah. Their first round playoff series is expected to start the following weekend.
