It felt like the 2025-26 NBA season came and suddenly went for the Los Angeles Lakers. Those were the days.
March saw the Lakers look virtually unbeatable. They were raised to contender status. The Big Three was playing like a well-oiled machine. Everything was clicking at the perfect time following months of major questions.
Now things look and feel completely changed.
Luka Doncic grabbed his hamstring and started hobbling. Austin Reaves gripped his side and started wincing.
And Lakers fans watched and started fearing.
A lot is attempting to be done to save this season. Head coach JJ Redick sharply stated he wants to make sure the third seed doesn’t leave his team’s grasp, until he walked back that statement following another blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
GettyLakers head coach JJ Redick during a game against the Houston Rockets in March 2026
Doncic jetted across waters to find some magical cure. You can applaud the effort but continue to doubt the result.
Reaves is reportedly in Doncic’s boat. While Reaves hasn’t left the country to seek medical attention, he has reportedly made it his goal alongside Doncic to return this season.
Chances are neither would be doing himself any good if that goal were to be achieved.
Sports Medicine Doctor Sends Straight Warning to Luka Doncic
Doncic’s injury surely tilted the tide on this entire season for Los Angeles. While the franchise had plenty of work to do to position itself as the title favorite, it was playing as good as one could hope, and that’s all anyone could ask for.
That’s perhaps why Doncic is looking to exhaust all his options at this point. There is precedent of elite athletes going abroad to resolve their injuries. Doncic isn’t even the first Laker to take this approach; Kobe Bryant took multiple trips to Germany over his iconic career to correct knee troubles.
It remains to be seen what Doncic gets out of his treatment in Spain, but it is probably going to be hard for Doncic to justify that he can play again this season no matter what.
According to Dr. Evan Jefferies, a sports medicine specialist, Doncic returning this season not only carries re-injury risk, but also the potential for further injury.
“If you remember what I’ve always talked about with the hamstring — it’s the second protector of the ACL,” Jefferies said in a podcast appearance. “So, it helps the ACL prevent the tibia from translating forward. That’s what the ACL prevents. And so, if you have a weakened hamstring, an injured hamstring, you don’t have as much protection with that, right? So, think of Klay Thompson. [He] tore his hamstring, tried to play on it the Finals, came down from the basket, couldn’t catch his leg, couldn’t land, couldn’t decelerate and boom, the tibia went forward, and the ACL was torn.
“So, that’s the risk Luka takes, and that’s the risk that the Lakers take, and that could be catastrophic for the franchise for years to come.”
Is L.A. Better off Shutting Its Stars Down?
There is rampant debate over what the Lakers should do in wake of two tough injuries to their top two players.
One side argues to shut down Doncic, Reaves and even LeBron James for the season; the other argues to muddle through and hope at least one of the two can re-join James for a playoff run.
Perhaps the second group is likely to win that debate.
The Lakers are a gilded franchise that accepts nothing but competing and winning. Coach JJ Redick is as tenacious as a coach can get when it comes to putting the best product on the court every night. It would take a lot of convincing for the organization to accept the season is over, especially as it presently holds the fourth seed and can’t fall below the fifth seed.
After missing L.A.’s last game, James is back in the lineup tonight against the Golden State Warriors. That already signals that the Lakers are trying to win.
With Doncic and Reaves sharing the goal to return and even Redick expressing confidence not one, but both stars will be back this season, it’s difficult to think Los Angeles isn’t going to at least see how the cards shuffle in the playoffs.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Luka Doncic Injury: Doctor Gives Concerning News Amid Lakers Star’s Europe Trip appeared first on Heavy Sports.