Luka Doncic is doing everything in his power to return to the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA playoffs.
The Slovenian superstar has returned to Europe in an attempt to find alternative methods to expedite the healing of his hamstring injury.
The Lakers locked in a top-four seed in the playoffs on Friday, and they most likely will face the Houston Rockets in the first round.
Although it seems impossible for Doncic to make it back for the Rockets series, if they reach the semifinals, where they’d likely meet the Oklahoma City Thunder, Doncic could return.
But why?
The Lakers are under new ownership with Dodgers owner Mark Walter. While the MLB franchise is now considered the crown jewel of North American sports, it didn’t immediately begin winning World Series titles in Los Angeles.
It took time. Patience. They didn’t go all-in to get Giancarlo Stanton or Bryce Harper. It took years before they saw the chance to get Mookie Betts, trade for him, and then start getting aggressive, culminating in their back-to-back signings of Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
That’s where the Lakers are right now. Doncic is signed for a few more seasons, and they’re entering an offseason with money to make moves if they see an opportunity.
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Why risk that open field of possibilities you have staring at you, only a few short weeks away, for a long shot of all long shots to topple the Thunder?
There’s no word if Austin Reaves will be back. And even if Doncic can suit up, he almost certainly won’t be at 100%. And we’ve already seen what the Thunder can do against the Lakers when they are at full strength, and it wasn’t pretty, that being the game in which Doncic hurt his hamstring in the first place.
While the pressure of trying to maximize their window with LeBron James in what could be his last year in Los Angeles looms large, sometimes you have to wave the white flag in a battle to ultimately win the war down the road.
In a world where Doncic pushes himself onto the court, and not only do the Lakers lose, but the superstar also injures himself further, it could create negative ripples that affect the franchise for the next decade.
For once, the Lakers need to be patient.
2026 is not their year.
And if they try too hard to force it, 2027, 2028, 2029, and the 2030s won’t be their years either.
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