OKLAHOMA CITY — With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an initial eight-week timeline for his return.
Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.
But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.
“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”
Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma injections with hopes of helping his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.
Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.
Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”
Doncic’s injury came at “the worst moment,” he said. The Lakers were coming off a magical March during which they went 15-2 and announced themselves as a potential championship contender with a healthy Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James together. Doncic was chosen Western Conference player of the month after he joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 600 points during March.
After Doncic and Reaves were injured, the Lakers shifted their focus to extending their season long enough for the leading scorers to return. It worked for Reaves, who made a miraculous comeback from a Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain one day shy of four weeks. But the Lakers aren’t putting pressure on Doncic to come back as quickly.
“It’s very simple,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of getting Doncic back and protecting him from further injury. “It’s ‘when he’s ready to play, he should play.’ That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no different from Austin.”
Doncic is five weeks into what doctors predicted was an eight-week timeline. Frustrated with missing the most important part of the season, Doncic is also mindful of being cautious about his future.
“It’s a tough one for me because I came back from injuries before too soon, and it wasn’t the best result,” said Doncic, who fought through a calf injury last season that lasted for months and predicated his shocking trade to the Lakers. “But like I say, this is the first time I have [this] hamstring injury.
“It’s not the same like other injuries. You have to be very careful, and I’m doing everything to come back. All the recovery, the chamber, cold tub, everything I can to come back, but it’s obviously very different than other injuries I had.”
