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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - APRIL 8: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball in front of Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Paycom Center on April 8, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)

Star point guard Luka Doncic looked on as his Los Angeles Lakers sent the Houston Rockets home after six games in the opening round of the playoffs.

But continued patience is asked of Doncic.

When L.A. was suddenly forced to head back to Houston to play a Game 6, that was the bad news. But the good news was Doncic would get more time to heal his Grade 2 hamstring strain ahead of a potential second round matchup against the champs.

That’s no longer a potential; the Lakers clinched a first round win Saturday night, setting up a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder early next week.

As he has been for exactly one month now, Doncic is in the spotlight, with fans wanting to know where the star guard stands as Game 1 of the next round approaches.

Insider Gives Likely Soonest Possible Return for Luka Doncic

Once the Lakers marched out to a 3-0 lead against the Rockets, it perhaps felt rewarding how soon the first round was going to end. However, that also meant the Lakers would miss Doncic for even more of the second round.  

GettyLuka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates the 98-78 win against the Houston Rockets in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Toyota Center on May 01, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

After winning in six games, L.A. finds itself in that middle area on Doncic’s return. It doesn’t appear he’ll be back to start the second round, but how about Game 3 or Game 4? 

Doncic, 27, hasn’t played a game in a full 30 days. He suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain against — guess who! — the defending champion Thunder on April 2 in a 43-point thumping.

So Doncic thought it was best to board a jet and fly to Spain to seek specialized treatment on his hamstring. 

As L.A. looks on to Game 1 in Oklahoma City, NBA insider Brian Windhorst gave an update on Doncic’s injury recovery and how soon the Lakers star could return.

“He’s not close [to returning],” Windhorst said. “When you come back from a hamstring injury like this, you have to ramp up, you have to play contact basketball, you have to play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5. He hasn’t played for a month. He’s not doing any of that right now. 

[The Lakers] do get an interesting little break here … and that’ll push out the series [against the Thunder] pretty much as far in the calendar as it can go. I have no idea how Luka’s gonna be in 14 days from now, but most likely, you are not going to see Luka Doncic at the front end of this, maybe at least for another week, 10 days on the minimum.” 

L.A. Fights Steep Uphill Battle as the Reigning Champs Await

All signs point to Doncic missing at least the front end of the second round. Perhaps his availability will become clearer after that, but with the reduced time between games in the second round, Doncic’s window to return this postseason will perhaps shrink considerably.

In the first round, the Lakers played a game every three days. That meant there were a full two days of rest in between, which was massive in helping Doncic to get a full month off since injuring his hamstring.

Doncic has reportedly made slow progress over the last month. It is unclear if he hit a setback at some point over the last 30 days, but with the pace of his rehabilitation, that is something worth worrying about.

Game 1 between the Lakers and Thunder will be played on Tuesday. Game 3 will be played Saturday, March 9 — which would fall in that 7-10 day frame Windhorst mentioned.