Lakers insider clears up conflicting report on Luka Doncic’s health originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are still trying to figure it out.
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Although they are a top-five team in the Western Conference right now, the leader of the pack hasn’t hidden his feelings about their true value. JJ Redick has publicly criticized his team’s defense, lack of execution, and disorganization on offense.
With Luka being at the head of the snake, alongside LeBron James, a lot of LA’s struggles will fall on him.
A recent report suggests that struggles coming from Luka’s contributions just might stem from physical setbacks—ones that aren’t enough to keep him off the floor—but affect his play.
Lakers Daily reports that Doncic is playing through “a lot of pain,” resulting in him doing “around-the-clock” treatment for the nagging ailments. But there are conflicting reports regarding the state of Doncic’s health.
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Dan Woike, Lakers beat writer for The Athletic, weighed in on the recent reports, noting that his sources downplayed what was said, labeling it as “inaccurate.”
The only facts at hand are that Doncic has had some minor setbacks throughout the year.
Back in the early fall, Doncic dealt with a finger injury and had a leg-related setback. More recently, Doncic started dealing with a leg issue. Since the start of the 2025-2026 season, Doncic has only missed five games due to physical setbacks. His other two absences were personal.
Over the past four games, Doncic has averaged 30.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists.
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Dealing with consistent setbacks or not, he remains a dominant force on the offensive end for the Lakers this year. In 25 games, Doncic has produced 33.6 points (45% FG, 31% 3PT), while picking up 8.1 rebounds, and passing out 8.7 assists per game.
