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Luka Dončić stands with teammates during the Lakers’ playoff game as his injury timeline extends beyond the first round.

All-Star guard Luka Doncic is reportedly not expected to play another game for the Los Angeles Lakers until the 2026-27 season.

Doncic essentially ruled himself out of the ongoing Western Conference semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder this past week when he revealed that he had entered the sixth week of his eight-week rehab process. With the Lakers on the brink of elimination against the Thunder, the JJ Redick-led locker room no longer expects to see Doncic on the floor, per multiple insiders.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, members of the media were “shocked” when Doncic addressed his persistent injury openly.

“He did media, and it kinda surprised us. He wasn’t expected to talk,” Amick said of Doncic on FanDuel TV’s “Run it Back.”

“…I think he was trying to control the narrative a little bit and get out in front of the timeline discussion,” Amick said. “That’s why he kept repeating the eight-week timeline. I mean, that’s a long way out.”

Luka Doncic Injury Update

Further to Amick’s point, the eight-week timeline means Doncic would be closer a return in the final week of May or the first week of June, putting his status in doubt for the Western Conference Finals if the Lakers had reached that far.

“He also made it clear that he learned the hard way in the past and won’t rush back from a soft tissue injury,” Amick said, referencing Doncic’s calf strain in his final few months with the Dallas Mavericks.

“He didn’t sound at all like a guy who’s trying to rush back, and you fell for him.

“…He’s miserable…you can tell he wants to be out there,” added the Lakers insider.

Lakers on Brink of Elimination

As Amick highlighted, Doncic expressed his frustrations while addressing the media for the first time since sustaining a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2.

“It’s very frustrating,” he said of missing the Lakers’ playoff run.

“I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is,” he added. “All I wanna do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating. But to see what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. But it’s been very tough just to see it and watch them play.”

The Lakers fell to a 3-0 hole against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 131-108 loss to the reigning NBA champions on Saturday. Luke Kennard, who took Doncic’s place as a starter earlier in the playoffs, admitted that his team desperately missed the Slovenian.

“Look, yeah, when you have the league’s leading scorer out there – if he was – it definitely changes the dynamic of a team,” Kennard said, via LA Times.

“Obviously, we miss him. And we know he’s working his butt off right now [to return to play] … but yeah, I mean, he would definitely change it for us. But right now, he’s not.”

Lakers vs. Thunder Game 4 tips off at 10:30 p.m. ET on Monday. OKC has yet to lose a game this postseason in its quest to win back-to-back NBA titles.