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Pro wrestling legend Ric Flair took another shot at Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic ahead of the team’s Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Flair was critical of Doncic for missing games with a hamstring injury and doubled down on his remarks in an interview on “Yahoo Sports Daily.”
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Ric Flair attends the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on May 22, 2023. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
“I’m not hard on Luka. I’m having fun, I’m such a Laker fan, and I think honestly, obviously I don’t know anything about the extent of injuries, but the first time I saw it … I did the same thing with the 49ers quarterback a couple of years ago. I was like, ‘Get back in the game, man,'” Flair.
“You know, I’ve had a cortisone shot, I’ve been fighting a broken ankle, so I don’t have much sympathy for the hamstring. But you know, they’re protecting the future, and I don’t blame them. They’ve guaranteed money.”
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Lakers players Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves chat while sitting on the bench during the second half of Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Rockets at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on April 20, 2026. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Flair has notably worked through injuries during his professional wrestling career.
He suffered a broken back in three places when he survived a plane crash in North Carolina in 1975. He was told he would never break again before moving on to a history-making career. He also suffered an injury while working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2011. Flair also revealed in 2016 that he was struck by lightning.
Last week, Flair urged the Lakers to trade Doncic if he didn’t have to fight through the injury.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 2 of the second round of the NBA playoffs on May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (Nate Billings/AP)
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Doncic’s hamstring injury cost him the last five games of the regular season and each of the Lakers’ playoff games.
