Luka Dončić out for rest of regular season with left hamstring strain

The Los Angeles Lakers’ championship hopes have taken a big hit.

NBA scoring leader Luka Dončić will miss the remainder of the regular season with a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring, it was announced Friday.

It’s unclear what his postseason status is.

Dončić was the main reason the Lakers rose to third place in the Western Conference standings. But an injury to his leg during Los Angeles’ blowout loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday put all of that to rest after an MRI examination revealed the severity of the strain.

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Lakers coach JJ Redick said Dončić was injured in the first half against the Thunder but was allowed back into the game as his team was plastered by the NBA champion Thunder.

Dončić could only last four minutes before he spun, stopped and fell onto the pitch in pain, causing him to leave.

The Lakers acquired Dončić in a surprising and controversial trade in February 2025; Dallas Mavericks sent the Latvian superstar, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, to Los Angeles in exchange for 31-year-old Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick. This move confused many fans and pundits, who believed the trade was lopsided in favor of the Lakers.

The Pacific Division champion Lakers (50-27) have just five games remaining before the postseason, which begins Sunday in Dallas.

Grade 2 hamstring strains sometimes require several weeks of recovery, but Dončić also has prior experience with hamstring issues. He missed four games with another left hamstring strain just before the All-Star break, but returned to the lineup after the break.

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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić reacts after a foul call in the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on November 25, 2025. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News/Getty Images)

Dončić is putting up stellar numbers in his first season with the Lakers, who acquired the Slovenian superstar from the Mavericks last season.

Averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game for Los Angeles, he was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the month in March after posting 13 consecutive 30-point performances, including seven 40-point games, a 51-point barrage against Chicago and a 60-point masterclass in Miami.

Dončić scored 600 points in March, becoming only the 10th player in NBA history to reach that number in a month. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves have also performed well recently, the Lakers rely on Dončić, who scored or assisted on 58% of their total points in March.

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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić controls the ball during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on November 8, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)

The Lakers’ regular season finale will be played at home against Utah next Sunday, April 12. The first round play-off series is expected to start next weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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