Luka Dončić waived notification of hamstring injury, All-Star game availability
LOS ANGELES – Luka Dončić missed out Los Angeles Lakers‘ last four games before the NBA All-Star Weekend with a hamstring injury. Doncic initially suffered an injury during the first half of the Lakers’ win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 5, and was ultimately ruled out for the second half.
Before the Lakers’ game against the Dallas Mavericks just before NBA All-Star Weekend, the head coach JJ Redick remained optimistic that Luka Doncic could return from injury after the break. And during his All-Star media availability session Doncic admitted on Saturday that he feels good about returning to the court and preparing for the All-Star Game on Sunday.
“I feel pretty good. I’ve been working on getting back,” Doncic said. “Obviously I wanted to play the last game, but it wasn’t possible. I was almost there. So I think I’ll play a little bit.”
Doncic was not selected to the All-Star team last season, ending his streak of five consecutive selections. This will be Doncic’s first time as an All-Star as a member of the Lakers. He will be part of Team World in the NBA’s new three-team round robin format.
During the first half of the regular season, Doncic was one of the best candidates for the NBA MVP award. Doncic has never won the award before, and his highest goal came in 2023-24, when he last led the league in scoring, finishing third in the voting.
Doncic is currently leading the league in scoring for the second time in his career with 32.8 points. He appeared in 42 games with just over 35 minutes per game. In addition to scoring, he is averaging 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.5 steals on 47.3 percent shooting from the field, 34.5 percent from the 3-point line and 78.1 percent from the free throw line. Doncic also leads the NBA in free throw attempts with 10.9 per game.
After the All-Star break, Doncic’s first opportunity to return to the Lakers lineup is on February 20 against the LA Clippers.
2026-02-14 20:27:00
