Luka Doncic is making progress toward his return from the All-Star injury

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers were without Luka Dončić from the second half of their win against the Philadelphia 76ers last Thursday after leaving the game with a hamstring injury. After the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick was optimistic about Doncic’s injury it wasn’t too serious, and before the team’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, that remained true.

“He’s progressed really well. I think part of him wanted to push himself to come back in the offseason, but we just have to be careful with soft tissue injuries,” Redick said. “Obviously we were very careful with Austin (Reaves). You just saw what happened with Jaylen Williams coming back. We all feel comfortable with the decision to keep him, and he should be good to go after the All-Stars.”

As for Luka Doncic’s availability for the All-Star Game, JJ Redick joked that it’s above his pay grade how much will depend on whether or not the Lakers star participates. Doncic did go out on the field before the Mavericks game and went through the warm-up before the game in the middle of the shutdown.

During the first half of the season, Dončić was one of the leading candidates for the league MVP award. He currently leads the NBA in points per game with 32.8. He also continued to immerse himself in the Los Angeles fan base, putting on a fun interactive event for fans during All-Star weekend.

“As far as the stars go, that’s really important to him. You clearly saw the connection he made with the city of Dallas and all the Mavericks fans around the world. And from the moment he got here, he embraced Los Angeles,” Redick said. “He wasn’t even here when the fires happened and he immediately made a donation to help with the fire. And he’s done a few things, either with the fans or with our team. I think he’s enjoying it.”

Doncic has appeared in 42 games for the Lakers so far, 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. He also leads the league in free throw attempts at 10.9 per game.

Last offseason, Doncic extended his contract with the Lakers for three years worth about 165 million dollars. Includes player option for 2028-29 season.