Luka Doncic: “I’m just doing everything I can… The doctor said 8 weeks at the beginning of the first MRI, so I’m just going day-by-day and I feel better every day”
Yeah doesn’t sound like he’s coming back anytime soon
May 28th, if we go by the 8 week timeline he mentions here. He also straight up said here: “obviously the recovery is not working.”
Having worked through a terrible grade 2⁄3 hamstring tear and subsequent recovery efforts recently, it is one of the most nagging and difficult things I’ve had to work back from. I feel for him.
Hamstrings even just overworked become so sore and take so much bodily energy to repair, takes me days just to get soreness to go away if I go too hard at basketball. Cant imagine how rough a serious tear is on a 6’8” behemoth. Its so tragic, LeBron was locked in for this final push. Him and Luka really did probably have a shot at winning. LeBron was the best player on the floor last night and Reaves was the worst. But if Lukas on the court he gets doubled which would give Reaves way more space to actually work.
Yeah and imagine coming back from that injury and having to face OKC/Spurs/Wolves in a playoff intense environment.
Hamstings are the worst. Youll feel 100% for a week and a half then have one slightly heavier cut and youre set back 4 weeks again.
Especially because its really hard to keep your stamina, flexibility, and strength when you cant push for fear of re-injury.
Calf strains are the same way. Wait a few weeks, it’s feeling great, no discomfort at all. Go play some pickup and 30 mins later, same damn injury. Then the cycle begins anew.
I have 2 lacrosse teammates who pushed through serious hamstring injuries with hours and hours of treatment each day and both walk with a limp 15 years later
Pulled mine a little over a year ago. It’s still not 100%, and just my luck I think I might’ve re-injured it not even 2 hours ago
And they are sneaky fuckers. The scar tissue that builds can make it feel like your hamstring is better but it is brittle so it tears much easier.
A real recovery time is more like 6-9 months.
Im thankful that I dont relate with injuries often mentioned in sports context, and probaly didnt even had a tear as terrible as yours, but one year when I was 17ish I pulled a hamstring and couldnt play anything seriously the whole summer it was pure hell. U feel perfect but one sprint and ur moving like a pirate with a wooden leg lol.
You dont have the best of everything to get you better.
No in fact I have a stubborn hound dog who constantly reaggravated it on our walks 😭
The human body is the human body
laughs in greg oden, then again in cal ripken jr
He shouldn’t anyways. A responsible medical staff and front office would’ve watched the game last night and made the call to shut him down for the year.
It’s just unnecessary risk to his career, look at Austin, rushed back and after being touted as the second option and future next to Luka, fans wanna trade him and may lose out the near 40mil/yr deal he was gonna get.
AR is a bit different because his poor play has a historical pattern with physical defense in the playoffs. There has been a strong, but minority contigent of Lakers fans that have felt he is a regular season merchant. Of course they are just louder now and many who were on the fence are falling into that camp. People wouldn’t ever feel that way about Luka, even if he played poorly against OKC.
There has been a strong, but minority contingent of Lakers fans that have felt he is a regular season merchant.
And they’re all fucking morons. Not calling out you, but I hate this discourse.
They come out of the woodwork every time he has a bad game but will also be the first posting braindead apology threads as soon as he gets back-to-back 30 point games. The Timberwolves “exposed” him last postseason and he absolutely crushed it against them when healthy in our 3-0 sweep of them in the regular season this year. That included games where they stuck Jaden McDaniels on him as the primary defender for big stretches. He carried for whole stretches this season facing the best perimeter defender on each team whenever Luka was injured or taking a rest. He can handle it.
It’s not the physical defense that’s giving him issues, it’s the fact that he’s not 100% this year just like last postseason with the toe injury. We can discuss the health concerns, but his actual play isn’t an issue.
This man came back from an oblique strain that should probably be sidelining him another 2 weeks. His whole game is based around off the dribble change-of-pace drives. No shit he’s going to be compromised after a month off from playing basketball. Austin had literally nothing to gain from coming back and playing at less than 100% with a major contract on the horizon but he’s still doing it because he doesn’t want to let his teammates down.
We’ve got some of the dumbest motherfuckers in the world posting over at /r/lakers. It’s an absolute circlejerk of knuckle dragging morons.
The Timberwolves “exposed” him last postseason and he absolutely crushed it against them when healthy in our 3-0 sweep of them in the regular season this year.
No dog in this fight but citing regular season games is not really a winning argument against the argument that he gets worse in the playoffs TBH
Nuggets went 3-1 against the Timberwolves as well this year so yeah regular season results against the Timberwolves doesn’t mean anything
Dude, relax. You’re not being calm or rationale. You’re way too convicted in your own beliefs, and it’s painfully obvious.
I think the AR regular season merchant accusations have more than enough grounds. And it makes perfect sense for players like that to exist, if you think about it.
Yeah, case in point? James Harden, who Austin Reaves pretty much modeled his game after. Harden literally won the MVP and we’ve seen how far he’s gone.
Then bring an actual argument to the table. Y’all just regurgitate the same tired talking points but definitely don’t watch enough possessions or full games to have an actual nuanced opinion. I’ll see the same foul merchant bullshit that ignores his ability to beat people off the dribble from the perimeter, his change-of-pace that lets him get to his spots inside, and how well he plays with his teammates both as a distributor and as an off-ball threat.
I’ve watched him play hundreds of games since his rookie year, thousands of possessions. He’s gotten better with each season developing from a strictly off the ball guy spacing for LeBron and AD to a guy that is legitimately one of the best SGs in the league today. He was playing at an All-Star level for big stretches of this season cooking multiple defensive coverages with and without Luka or Bron on the floor for months.
The only problem he’s had this year is that he’s gotten injured twice this year taking him out for very long stretches that have thrown off his rhythm coming back. And AR is purely a rhythm player who needs the ball to get going, but then settles into any role asked on him on this team. And he should not be playing right now with an injury that typically would side a player for 6-8 weeks.
He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and then some. He’s improved his handling, his ability to drive, and his defense went from mediocre to passable despite a lack of size. But we still have idiots who can’t acknowledge that and jump on the circlejerks because they can’t form any actual high level discussion. And I’m sick of seeing it.
Don’t sweat the casuals. Anyone who’s watched Reaves for a long time knows that it usually takes him 3-6 games to get back into rhythm. Keep posting because your takes have great insight in them. They just get sensitive if you call out the idiots/circlejerks and whatnot.
I think it’s funny you typed a combined like 10 paragraphs and I didn’t read a single one lol. It’s pretty easy to identify manic bullshit and avoid reading it. If you’re incapable of boiling your thoughts down to a few sentences, you probably aren’t that smart of a guy.
Like I didn’t read any of what you said after the first sentence or two, but I would be truly baffled to find out you didn’t repeat a lot of the same stuff in those two comments, just reiterated and stated a bit differently lol. I guarantee.
Any in depth discussion or conversation is wasted on this sub. An actual article or book must be unthinkable if 4 paragraphs is that daunting and you check out that easily.
Damn shame that forums and most quality discourse for sports died with the rise of Reddit.
Copied both of your comments word for word into ChatGPT and here was the response:
“The core arguments themselves were solid and coherent:
•He’s injured, not exposed.
•Fans overreact to bad games.
•His skillset is more complete than critics admit.
•He’s improved significantly over time.
•Critics rely on lazy narratives.
But each point got reiterated multiple times in slightly different wording. The repetition mostly came from:
•Re-emphasizing injury context several times.
•Repeating that critics don’t actually watch games or understand nuance.
•Repeating frustration toward “idiots,” “morons,” “circlejerks,” etc.
•Restating his offensive strengths from different angles without adding much new information.
That said, the repetition also contributes to the tone. They read like emotional sports-rant comments, not polished essays. In that context, some redundancy feels natural because the writer is emphasizing frustration and conviction. So they weren’t “bad” comments — just less efficient than they could be if the goal was clarity and persuasion.
Yeah everyone else is dumb but you’re different bro
Bring an argument then rather than a shitpost. Most of y’all are complete idiots when it comes to any basketball discussion over at that cesspool crying about OKC’s defense or oscillating between praise or hatred on a player based on how they performed the night before.
I’m agreeing with you bro you’re different than all the other girls
Reaves is another Murray, outside of one fluke year both of them choke every single time against any physical defense in the playoffs.
I mean let’s be real, when Austin Reaves was ascending, his statement was that he modeled his game after James Harden.
And James Harden has been a regular season merchant. A great one, no doubt. He won MVP for a reason, but the results from Harden’s playoffs speaks for itself.
You mean the dude who took a healthy kd warriors to 7?
Lakers with a healthy Luka would be fighting an uphill battle here. Rushing him back and playing him at half strength is just asking for trouble
a responsible medical staff wouldn’t base his recovery on the outcome of games whatsoever
at zero point should championship viability come into your medical care
you can say that about the front office, but not the medical staff
Honestly I think it’s more for the rest of the team not giving a clear timeline for the return. If they ruled him for the rest of series it’ll affect the mentals of our role players, but if they feel he might come back they’ll be more motivated to try to stay alive till he gets back.
If he re-injures the hamstring is that career impacting? He would have an entire offseason to rehab and get back to 100%.
It’s a genuine question, I don’t know the details of his injury so just curious if there’s real long term risk if he came back early or if worst case he aggravates it again and then has time to recover this offseason.
Without digging into it, it seems most guys who come back early regret it. Usually because of both poor play and the strength difference in legs causing a new injury.
Compensation injuries in your knee, hip, ankle or the other leg are all concerns if you rush back.
Easiest way to injure another body part is to play with something else injured. Body compensates, your mind also constantly is scared to properly exert the injured area. So youre all out of sync and move/distribute your weight awkwardly. So easy to just mess up something else in that state.
If you are not able to give full effort just stay off the court
Ironically, I think the Lakers had a chance with him to win game 1, they really just needed one other player than LeBron to provide offense. And OKC was really bad, for them.
But then you know that it was probably OKC’S floor, and it would be dumb to risk the franchise star’s health for maybe a 4-1 series loss.
If the Lakers can push the series to Game 7, Luka will have enough time to ramp up and return.
Lol
I can’t tell which is more delusional: thinking Luka can make it to game 7 or thinking the Lakers can extend the series to 7 games.
Yes
Lol, lmao even
LA has the best drugs for sure
Sarcasm isn’t your strong suit, is it?
ever hear of poe’s law?
Brother, even if the Lakers somehow forced Game 7 without Luka, his injury was five weeks ago and he said the doctors told him 8 weeks.
The Lakers would have to go deep into the WCF for him to come back based on that timetable.
When we make the finals he’ll be back!
We’re getting swept or maybe somehow getting one win.
Lakers will win 1, I can see Reaves go off at least once and if LeBron plays well that game (he will) they can steal 1.
G7 2027?
Then play the Thunder in his first game back from 2 months off? Lmaooo
*Game 10
If
Just focus on one game at a time, you never know
rofl
I doubt it, and I don’t see the point of bringing him back if if they’re down 2-0 or 3-0 in the series by then anyway
Yeah lemme NEVER get that doctor if i get sick
Or his silhouette shows up in the tunnel tomorrow night like a smash bros character
yeah hes not going to be playing this series. no point making his injury worse
Even with a perfectly healthy luka it would be a tall task for the lakers to beat okc.
He’d also be guarded by Lu Dort, who in their last playoff series in 2024 produced a 2 minute compilation of knocking Luka to the ground, kneeing him in the chest navigating pick and rolls, hitting him in the face on like 4 separate plays, etc.
If the series became at all competitive Dort would resume that behavior and re-injure Luka. I’d bet a lot of money on that happening.
Obligatory fuck Lu Dort
It is my dirty fantasy that some enforcer-type player will screen Dort so motherfucking hard he knocks him out cold on the spot. Fuck Dort.
Can we get Lu Dort vs Draymond Green added to the Whitehouse UFC card?
I am all for it but …. Lu Dort eats Draymond Green alive. Green is dirty, but he is nowhere near built like the tank that Dort is.
Lu is very athletic, he has the build of a person who could play almost any sport. That is why a tank flailing his body around and dropping near your knees is the last thing you want to see. I would rather take 100 cheap shots from Draymond than one serious hit from Lu Dort.
That would need to be a big player, Lu is built like a football player, could probably hold his own in the NFL (build wise)
Also dove into Luka’s already hurt knee twice in G6
Dirtiest player in the league and simultaneously the player who flops the most on defense
WCF it is right? right?
This is similar timeline to Watson injury. He came back around 7 weeks then got injured shortly after. I would shut him down for the season
Yeah. Aaron Gordon as well.
JDub also has had hamstring issues all season.
They’re very hard to heal fully from and not injure again. That muscle is so thick
It gets poor blood flow too
Cam Thomas had like 3-4 hamstring injuries in a row
Recover play for a bit injured
Don’t worry, OKC is willing to do it for us.
So still a week and a half potentially before he returns. Yeah pack it up Laker nation see y’all next season
Even with him playing they’d be lucky to get one. No I’m not a Thunder fan, in fact I can’t stand them. But it is what it is.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills in this thread. I’m not gonna pretend the Lakers are favorites or anything like that but they were within 5-10 for 3⁄4 of the game yesterday with a very bad AR. If Reaves was playing to his regular season level it’s not out of the question for the 4th quarter to go differently and them squeaking out a win. And this was away and without Luka.
sga was uncharacteristically bad, it’s not likely the lakers get another shot at winning a game
I’m just assuming Reaves isn’t going to get to what he was in the season. He’s been terrible since his return. I don’t see that getting much better against a great defense. Also, I think SGA had a pretty bad game, but I don’t think that will be a consistent thing in the series.
I do have to hand it to JJ though, he’s going great with what he’s got. Good scheme to force SGA into turnovers last night.
I don’t necessarily disagree I just think it’s wild to think that lakers comfortably go 0-4 with Luka when we just watched a game that was winnable for like 35 minutes without Luka
I feel you. But Luka wasn’t well that great against the Thunder in the game they played in the regular season, and in the game before he got the hamstring injury. Even if Luka comes back, I doubt he’ll be close to a healthy regular season Luka.
If Luka was 100% and didn’t miss games before the playoffs (so he didn’t have to get back in rhythm), I’d give the Lakers 2 games.
That’s how all good teams play, they keep you at arms distance and then step on your throat in the fourth. Also Reaves, even at full health, can’t play against this type of defense. Way too physical for him.
3+ weeks, right? If he was told 8 weeks, and it will have been 5 weeks ago as of tomorrow, then there are 3 more weeks.
Just in time for the finals then 🤩🔫
that’s……….right
Lakers can push this series to Game 7. Luka will return and cement his MVP status over SGA.
Lakers beat the Spurs/Wolves in the WCF with Luka averaging 40ppg.
Lakers move to the Finals where they sweep the Knicks.
18.5 CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR THE LAKERS. (yes we count the NBA Cup)
That’s the look of defeat. He knows it’s a wrap 🥲
Imma go watch the whole thing and decide if it gives season exit interview vibes.
Yeah, he looks sad as fuck. I know he loves playing for his country in FIBA, but he better just take this summer off and do PT, as well as whatever workout regiment LeBron does to still be dropping 27/4/6 at age 41. The hamstring thing will become an issue if you just keep pushing it
8 weeks! hamstring injuries at this time of year are devastating
When are we gonna start questioning Shams reporting? 4-6 weeks isn’t 8 weeks. Shams just like us googling and guessing.
he said out indefinitely
Correct he even said typically 4-6 weeks. Luka said the doctor told him 8 weeks right when he got the MRI. How locked in are you as a reporter if this news is just coming out now? You telling me Shams couldn’t get that info as a well connected reporter?
[deleted]
So the Ant news is a surprise then?
yeah i mean shams isn’t anywhere near as reliable as woj dude said ant was out for games 1 and 2
he said that while our local media was saying he was targeting game 4
Did the wolves try to catch the spurs with the element of surprise?
I think everyone was reporting the most truthful information at the time and that ant beat his timeline
I mean it’s easy to just assume things but anyone can do that. Thats the reason why they have credible reporters who have better insights within each teams organization
so it’s your expectation that shams has a direct line with god to figure out ant’s timeline?
if the team is saying “game 4,” doctors are saying “game 4,” Ant’s s&c coach is saying “game 4,” and history says “game 4,” why would we expect Shams to report anything different?
I’m sure that’s what insider reporters are there for.
You understand what “typically” means right? Every injury is different, and every person heals differently. I don’t even like Shams but are we really going to give him shit for not reporting on a diagnosis that was between Luka, his doctor, and the team?
Might as well just listen to the X doctors then if you just gonna tell me what typical injuries are. “Insiders” like Sham suppose to give a little more than something I can google.
is it even typically 4-6 weeks? Peyton Watson came back at 6.5 weeks and quickly reinjured the hammy.
Oh we’ve been questioning shams.
A full summer without basketball could do wonders for Luka.
It’s been 10 summers since 2017 (when Luka became a regular starter as a pro) and Luka rarely had any rest time.
2017-Euro Basket (and slovenia won the tournament)
2018- Played 80+ games with real madrid and won the euroleague.
2019-Only summer when he didn’t play (had a huge jump and became a top 5 player in the following season).
2020-covid and bubble playoffs.
2021-hard fought series with the Clippers, Olympic qualis, olympic semifinals.
2022-WCF, eurobasket QF.
2023-World Cup QF.
2024-NBA finals, olympic quali.
2025-Eurobasket QF
The last time he had real healthy time off was Covid and he was phenomenal in the bubble. He’s has too much milage to keep doing this. He needs real rest
He’s still young but he’s a very high mileage vehicle
Yeah but that’s why Luka is so good. You think if he takes the full summer off of basketball he will comeback and just start balling?No, the reason why he’s so consistently good is because he lives and breathes basketball yearround. He should start playing as soon as he’s able.
Posted this on the Lakers sub about how he should sit out this summer and not play for Slovenia. Idiot Laker fans obviously crucified me for it. I have no clue why people don’t understand that he needs to get a full offseason to rest and get his body right, as him playing basically year round is exacerbating his nagging soft tissue injuries. If he’s serious about winning a ring, he will not play this summer, but he’s stubborn.
The Slovenian team is genuinly terrible so he has to carry so much usage every game to even win so it puts a lot of wear on his body. But it is what it is at this point, he will play for them any chance he gets.
Its not Idiot lakers fans. You just dont understand that Players want to play for their countrys and especially for european players its as important as the nba.
If he is healthy he will play for the national team.
Brutal luck
Poor Bron
Every fucking time his teammates bodies fail him
He’d have like 8 rings otherwise lol
Punt this year. Retool for next. Luka is 27. Hamstring injuries are nothing to fuck with
Heal up, league is lesser when dude isn’t playing
Ric Flair livid
“Dad got the lock off the liquor cabinet again”
Luka face OKC Luka limping
Lakers first game next season is going to be at OKC for sure.
If he comes back they will be hunting him on defense. Doesn’t sound like a great thing. If they go down 3-0 shut him down.
They would be hunting him on defense even if he was 100% healthy.
This. People forget Luka played in the games this season where OKC destroyed them.
Lakers have Reaves and Kennard on the floor he’s not any worse than them defensively
They would be out there with him lol
So? My point is everyone is hoping a miracle happens and Luka comes back, but it’s not the magic bullet - even with Luka this series is only ending one way.
Yes ik we weren’t winning this series even with Luka ur roster is just far superior but the Lakers offense outside of Bron and Rui yesterday was putrid, having Luka would have improved that. My point is that people are acting like the lakers are so much worse when Luka is on the floor which isnt true lol
I agree with you there, any time you have a player of that caliber you’re always going to be better off with him on the court. The rest over the offseason could do a lot of good for him heading into next season.
Obviously you forgot considering Luka only played in one game vs OKC this season and it was the game he was injured in
He played in 2 games and got blown out in both wdym
shut him down anyway
I mean, most teams do that. But he bounced them in ‘24 but yeah.
2024 OKC is not the 2026 OKC.
The Lakers’ only hope of beating the Thunder pre Luka injury was half of their(Thunder) guys just not showing up for the game. The LA FO treated this season like a gap year and got a semis appearance out of it which is what most people thought would be the ceiling for this team fully healthy anyway. No sense Luka coming back to play. Use this stretch of playoff games to give guys like Adou playoff minutes and see whether Reaves is worth that big contract he’s looking for. Sucks that the Spurs are most likely going to go bloodbath to a fully rested Thunder team.
Can we get a quieter clip pls?? It’s like he’s screaming in my ear.
Ric Flair made him have to come out and speak to the media lmao
It’s a shweep shweep shhhweep 🧹
Enjoy golf season brother
I am not a Luka apologist. HOWEVER
Not just his injury but all the things the man has been going through this year (id even say the past 2 years) is insane and i cannot imagine what that has done to his psyche. Let alone his physical body. Yall let this man have some time to heal. He still has a bright future ahead of him.
Laker fans are trying to figure out a way to give Luka the best MRI award.
Did they make him talk to the media because of Windhorst dumb “reporting” yesterday?
i’m pretty sure that talking to the media is built right into the cba.
He hasn’t spoken to them in over a month.
The first time he does it is the day after Windhorst publicly insinuated he didn’t go to Europe for treatment
Then Luka publicly explained what he got done in Spain, and said “everyone knows” Spain is known for that lol.
Just seems like he was responding to Windhorst comments specifically
Ramping up for beach volleyball in Galveston
Doesn’t sound like he’s gonna be back
Lakers saw Austin Reaves last month grabbing his back for like a full quarter. Kept him in the game. Then, at halftime, there was a video that they were working on Luka’s hamstring. But, they still played him down by like 30.
I will be shocked if the lakers win one game
two wasted seasons and no slovenian jesus hoops until october. who has it worse than luka fc?
See ya in late October!
I will translate for those who dont speak excusemeter : If we beat hard OKC defense and we face the Wolves instead the Spurs I will be back.
Day by day, you say?
I’m gonna cry of we go multiple years of no Luka/Lebron run on the playoffs
The timeline we were told was 4-6 frigging weeks. It sucks to put fans through the ringer by giving them unreasonable expectations.
Nico was right
JusticeForNico
Ric Flair isn’t going to be happy about this
Muscle strains suck. You feel like you’re getting better, hell you probably are getting better, but if you try anything with it it’ll hurt a ton and you might set yourself back.
Don’t worry Scout, you’ll get em next year
LeBum
Inject that leg and get out there bro
Lost a lot of respect for Luka this season. In a way it’s not his fault, but his terrible conditioning is what got him here.
Last year LeBron really had a chance and this fking guy needs 8 weeks. Ever since his finals appearance as a Mavs his stock has just been dropping non stop. I really wanted to root for this guy but he’s making it too difficult. He pretty much has no choice but to win a chip to win back a lot of good grace with fans.
I love how the media lowkey gave him some space to open up on this when he wanted to and are genuinely appreciative of his answers.
8 weeks is pretty long for even a grade 2 hamstring strain right? Must be a pretty severe injury, or the Lakers are just being extra cautious.
Peyton Watson was out for 7 weeks after his grade 2 hamstring but then pretty much immediately injured it again so they are probably being cautious, especially since if he was to come back it would be against OKC playoff defense
Mr injury
Would an MVP candidate coming back help a team?
Gee not sure thats a tough one…
99.9% of the time I’d agree with you but this could be a legit question. With Dub out we don’t have anyone to guard Bron as the main facilitator. We have 4 guys that can guard Luka if he played and the dude is a TO machine which the Thunder feasts on. I personally do think Luka would help them on offense but with him on the floor our offense would also be better
The last time the Thunder played Luka in a series you guys lost. I know it was 2 years ago but there is no way I’m hearing an argument where Luka being in this series makes it easier for the Thunder lmao
If you replaced reaves with Luka, game 1 is wayy closer
Scoring goes up, defense goes down. Ball movement worsens
Shut the fuck up
Make me
brother our problem is offense, not defense
That $165 million extension might not be so good after all. He can always go back to Dallas.
Bc he can’t magically heal a hamstring instantly lol?
I don’t agree with the person youre replying to but injury concerns have been a thing for Luka. Hes been hurt for a decent chunk of his playoff career
He plays more basketball than almost anyone else, spending most offseasons playing for Slovenia, and the 2024 run he had to play hobbled or they would get eliminated pretty easily without him.
He could play 55 games a season and still be worth that extension
People jump through hoops to justify Luka hate
Once again I dont say I disagree. All I did was explain that its not about him not magically healing his hamstring early but genuine concerns about his longevity and durability.
And if you paid him that for 55 games you’d be a horrible GM. Luka led teams need to centered around his strengths and weaknesses, youre not making the playoffs if hes missing 25 games
He played 64 and the lakers got the 4th seed. And that is not with a ideal roster.
He just played insane amount of minutes in his career. But every franchise would super max him even with his injury record
Luka led teams need strong 3 and D wings 1 or 2 decent secondary playmakers and an athletic center that can play D and catch lobs….oh wait that’s every good NBA team in the modern era 😳
Makes sense, he’s easily had the largest usage rate of anyone in at least the last 5 years, mostly because his teams have been supbar and he’s had to drag them to the playoffs in the West
Bleeding knee in 2024, calf strain in 2025, now a torn hamstring. Skinny in the first half of the season, and the same shape as previous in the latter half. He just can’t stay healthy. Lakers are paying $55 mill per year for a guy who won’t even play 70 games. His prime is legitimately over (bs he gets close to even 25 PPG at the current state of his health) so now the Lakers have to make him adopt a new play style that’s more sustainable or shop him up to a team willing to put up with him.
He just led the league in scoring, 33.5 PPG, what on earth are you on about? He hasn’t averaged less than 27.7 PPG since his rookie season. And what do you mean “willing to put up with him”? Bro is chill as hell for a superstar
Should have clarified, I meant put up with him being injured. His heavy frame (still 230 lbs despite “losing weight”) is wearing on him at just 27. That’s not sustainable.
When did he tear his hamstring? During that 40 point per game explosion. Luka should be in his physical best but maybe he’s squandering it with his play style.
The Lakers have no depth, their bench avgs like 9 ppg or something. Bron was hurt so both Reaves and Luka got overused and got hurt, there’s nothing else to it.
Y’all keep making shit up to hate on the guy
I agree that with your last point his usage rate is too high but that’s not really his fault with the bench the Lakers have right now.