Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic remains on the sidelines with a hamstring strain, but that isn’t stopping him from trolling his teammates. With Jarred Vanderbilt having dislocated his right pinky finger in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Doncic hilariously spun the ball with it right in front of him.
“You can’t do that,” Doncic appears to say.
Luka told Vando “You can’t do this” because of his pinky finger 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Id7NlrQ4jo
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 9, 2026
This was all in good fun, and Vanderbilt didn’t seem to have taken any offense to it. These two have grown close during their time together on the Lakers. Vanderbilt has trolled Doncic in the past, and this just seems to be the kind of relationship they have.
This trolling incident appears to have occurred before Game 2 in Oklahoma. Both Doncic and Vanderbilt had been ruled out for the clash due to their injuries, and the Lakers sure could have used them that night. They lost Game 2 125-107 to go down 2-0 in the series.
With how gruesome that dislocation looked, you wondered if Vanderbilt would play again in this series, but he was surprisingly available for Game 3. Lakers head coach JJ Redick opted against playing the 27-year-old, though.
It’s unlikely Vanderbilt’s presence would have made much difference, as the Thunder blew out the Lakers 131-108 to take a 3-0 lead. They have just been too good.
Redick admitted the Thunder have “kicked our a**” three straight games, but he isn’t throwing in the towel. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, though, and it’s hard to see the Lakers being the first ones to do so.
You might have given them the smallest of chances had Doncic been healthy, but he isn’t. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the Lakers aren’t expecting the Slovenian to return from injury against the Thunder. It is a real shame how things have panned out.
Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in the 139-96 loss to the Thunder on April 2. The average recovery span is about four to six weeks, and the six-time All-Star headed to Europe for specialized treatment in the hopes of expediting his return. Unfortunately, the treatment overseas hasn’t delivered the desired results.
It has been over five weeks now since the injury, and Doncic still doesn’t seem close to returning. To play as well as the 27-year-old did during the regular season, and then have to watch helplessly from the sidelines, has to sting.
Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. He led the NBA in scoring and was an MVP candidate.
You knew the Lakers weren’t going to go too far in the playoffs without Doncic. They stunningly upset the Houston Rockets in six games in the first round, but taking down the Thunder, the defending champions and the top seed, was going to be too much. Even if Doncic were available, you wouldn’t have backed the Lakers to take down this juggernaut.
Game 4 tips off at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET. It’d be a bit of a surprise if the Lakers don’t get swept.
