Los Angeles Lakers fans held their collective breath as Luka Doncic left today’s FIBA EuroBasket exhibition between Slovenia and Latvia with a knee injury.
Doncic has been diagnosed with a knee contusion, and the issue is thankfully not expected to be serious. The injury occurred when a teammate was shoved into Doncic on the defensive end, which resulted in him going down in pain and heading to the locker room.
Doncic walked off the court under his own power but favored his right leg a bit. He returned to Slovenia’s team bench with ice on his knee after a short period, and the medical staff made the decision to play it safe and keep him out for the remainder of the matchup.
The Lakers star looked like himself before the injury occurred, pouring in 26 points, five assists, and four rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Doncic’s improved fitness level continues to be a story of the offseason. The early results have been promising, but leaving any matchup due to injury is not what anyone wants to see. For the time being, Lakers and NBA fans can breathe a sigh of relief that he looks to have avoided any sort of significant injury.
The five-time All-Star played 28 games with the Lakers last year following one of the most surprising trades in sports history. Across this stretch, the 26-year-old averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.
Doncic holds the seventh-best odds of winning NBA MVP next season at +2000 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Competition in the Western Conference is steep, with the Lakers holding the fifth-best odds of winning the conference at +1000 and the seventh-best odds of winning the NBA Championship at +1400.
