After not playing in an organized basketball game since April 2, Luka Dončić returned to the floor Monday night for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 127-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He recorded 21 points (5-of-12 shooting), three assists (five turnovers), two rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes of action. Following the game, Dončic, who spent the final month of 2025-26 and much of the offseason rehabbing from a Grade 2 hamstring strain, offered a reassuring report on his status.
“I felt
great, honestly,” he told reporters Monday night. “The whole team was just moving faster. But me, personally, I think I felt great.”
Typically a mainstay on the Slovenian national team during tournaments and qualifying play, Dončić sat out this summer’s World Cup qualifying games while he recovered from last season’s injury. As such, he went more than half a year between basketball games and is happy to be back on the court.
“I missed it a lot. Basketball is one of the best things in my life and I missed it a lot,” he said. “It’s been, what, five, six months I think? Being back for the games, being competitive, it’s just a lot of fun for me and I’m really happy to be back.”
Although Dončić has rarely missed extended time in his career, he has been a bit banged up over the years, especially the past couple seasons. Only twice has he missed 10 or fewer regular-season games, which happened in 2018-19 (his rookie year) and 2020-21, though he’s also only missed more than 20 games once (2024-25). The Lakers will need as much from him as possible this season to vie for home-court advantage against teams like the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, so they’ll hope his lengthy layoff and unfortunate end to 2025-26 ultimately proves beneficial in 2026-27.
Individually, a healthy campaign would also aid his chances of an MVP honor. He’s finished among the top five in MVP voting four times and been named All-NBA First Team six times but just once has he earned a top-three finish. If he can play, say, 74 games this year, he’ll have a much better chance at finally adding an MVP trophy to all those impressive All-NBA First Team bids.
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.
