The undermanned Los Angeles Lakers have suffered yet another injury blow, as Luka Doncic exited Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a left leg contusion. Doncic clearly appeared to be in discomfort in the first half, hobbling and holding his left calf on multiple occasions, and did not come out of the locker room after halftime.
Doncic had looked far from his best when he was on the court, putting up 12 points (4-13 FG), five rebounds, and two assists. The injury almost certainly played a part in that, and Dalton Knecht has now started the third quarter in the Slovenian’s absence.
Doncic had previously missed three games at the very start of the season due to a left finger sprain and a lower left leg contusion. You wonder if it is a similar issue this time around.
Losing a player like Doncic, who was averaging 35.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2025-26 entering this contest, isn’t ideal at any point, but the timing couldn’t have been much worse for the Lakers. They were already without Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura here.
Doncic is the fourth starter to go down with an injury for the Lakers, who entered this game with a 19-7 record. They dealt with an injury crisis at the start of the season and are now in the midst of another one.
Reaves, Ayton, and Hachimura are at least expected to be back soon, but only time will tell what the situation is with Doncic. The Lakers will be keeping the five-time All-Star’s long-term health in mind, so expect them to be cautious.
Doncic has, though, missed six games this season, and if he has to sit out for a couple of weeks, he would be in serious danger of being ineligible for MVP due to the NBA’s 65-game rule. It would be a real shame if that does happen.
