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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

It’s not far-fetched to say. So it must be said. The Los Angeles Lakers had their season ended twice.

At the hands of the same team.

The Lakers fought valiantly, clawed, scratched, huffed and puffed so the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t blow their house down. 

It just didn’t matter. They lost. Again.

The Thunder secured a five-point victory in Game 4, improving their record in these 2026 playoffs to a smashing 8-0. They are of a very, very small handful of defending champions in league history to start the postseason with that record. 

Two sweeps ain’t too shabby.

Thirty-nine days earlier, Luka Doncic, one of the best players on the planet and the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise, pulled up lame.

The season was effectively over, as we can all now say with certainty.

Thirty-nine days later, Luka Doncic, one of the best the sport has to offer and the face of a heavily-decorated franchise, sat on the bench, sometimes with his arms folded, sometimes with a blunt stare on his face, oftentimes appearing as if the thoughts of “what if?” wouldn’t leave his psyche alone.

That darn hamstring. 

Luka Doncic’s Injury Way Worse the Originally Believed

As if the bad news out of Los Angeles wasn’t already pouring down soaking everything it touches and leaving no dry ground behind.

Weeks went by with no updates. The Lakers kept rolling, at least before they started knocking on the champs’ door. 

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Would he be ready for Game 1, 3, 4, maybe 5 … if the Lakers could get there? 

No, no, no and no.

And to make matters worse, we are learning Doncic’s injury, a Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered April 2 in Oklahoma City, was actually worse than originally believed. 

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Dan Woike, Doncic learned his injury was more severe than what the initial MRI showed.

“Dončić didn’t play again after suffering his hamstring injury,” Amick and Woike wrote. “While an MRI conducted in Dallas originally showed a Grade 2 lower hamstring strain, further medical evaluation in Spain showed a deeper and more severe hamstring injury, according to a league source.”

Lakers Star Turns to Offseason

GettyLuka Doncic announces he will not play for Slovenia this summer

Few would argue the 2025-26 Lakers were a failure. 

They exceeded preseason expectations and even won a playoff series without their leading scorer, which no team had ever pulled off before.

L.A. has a multitude of decisions to make this offseason. From different star trade targets to the futures of LeBron James and Austin Reaves, both of whom could be in a different uniform next season.

But everything circles back to Doncic for the Lakers. 

He is the centerpiece and the engine that would make the Lakers a perennial threat to win the NBA championship. The Thunder showed  the Lakers exactly what they need to do to reach that next level.

Now the question is how the Lakers will execute that blueprint.

Doncic, like every all-world superstar before him, will demand quite a lot from the Lakers’ front office. No mega-talent in the past has stood still when his team didn’t prioritize building a championship-caliber roster around him.

Doncic won’t be any different. 

As for the outlook on Doncic’s health moving forward, the Lakers seem to be in a favorable spot.

“The expectation is that he won’t be limited in his offseason preparation for next year,” Amick and Woike wrote, “the Lakers’ top priority in a good position to lead whatever roster the Lakers put alongside him.”