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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates in front of Jamir Watkins #5 of the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on January 30, 2026 in Washington, DC.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 4 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets and were not able to complete the sweep. But while Austin Reaves appears to be ramping up to get back on the court, all of the latest news on a Luka Doncic injury return does not look as good as initially hoped for the Lakers.

Los Angeles is still in the driver’s seat in their series against the Rockets, but as it relates to their postseason hopes going forward, getting back both Reaves and Doncic remains key.

The former, despite not playing so far, looks close to returning from injury; however, his Slovenian backcourt teammate, according to recent updates, doesn’t appear to be as far in his recovery as many thought.

Based on reports given by various NBA insiders both before and after Game 4 of the Lakers-Rockets series, Doncic looks to still face an uphill battle as it relates to his injury return.

Lakers Get More Bad News On Luka Doncic Injury Return

Officially, Doncic remains out indefinitely with a grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered in early April. Through the first few games of the Lakers’ playoff run, there was hope that he could return at some point soon, but it remained undetermined if that would be in the first round, or later on.

Now, based on the latest injury updates, Doncic appears to be further back in his recovery than initially thought. Most recently, it was Bill Simmons, speaking on his podcast, that gave a concerning quote about the star’s hamstring injury recovery.

“No Luka,” he said. “I’ve heard Luka’s not even close (to returning) yet.”

That comes after Dave McMenamin of ESPN offered another worrying update on Doncic’s status before Game 4.

“There’s been no progression, in terms of his on-court work,” he said on Inside the NBA. “He did some very light shooting in L.A. before this team got to Houston, but there’s still some time before we’re going to start circling a calendar date when he could be back on the court in an actual game.”

While that might be a cause for concern, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said pregame that Doncic had progressed slightly in his recovery.

“He just continues to kind of do some stuff on the court,” Redick said, per Benjamin Royer of the OC Register. “Was able to move a little bit today on the court, which, you know, most of the stuff has been standstill. So he’s progressing, but no update on any timeline or anything like that.”

Still, for now, Doncic remains out. There is hope that he could return at some point later in the playoffs if the Lakers can advance, but for the time being, he is still without a return timeline.

What About Austin Reaves Coming Back For The Lakers?

Reaves has been listed as questionable for the past two games in the series against the Rockets, but still hasn’t made his return from an oblique strain he suffered on April 2.

While he had gone through on-court workouts and participated in warmups in the prior two games, Reaves remains sidelined.

But while there was reportedly a ‘surprise‘ that his injury status was upgraded despite still not being within his original return timeline, there is hope that the shooting guard could return sometime soon.

However, according to Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet, there is one hurdle he still has to overcome.

“I think it’s fair to consider everything,” Redick said. “Austin, I had a conversation yesterday for a long time, and I think ultimately the athlete has to feel confidence. That’s always the final hurdle coming back from an injury — the psychological component of it.”

As Redick said postgame, the Lakers missed what Doncic and Reaves bring to the table in Game 4. But, teams are 159-0 when up 3-0 in a playoff series, so while Los Angeles did drop the potential series-clinching matchup, they’ll have another chance to advance in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Reaves’ official injury status remains uncertain, while Doncic isn’t expected to play in the series.