Luka Dončić Says He Regrets Pushing Through Hamstring Injury That Ended His Season

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić says he regrets a decision that likely cost his team a shot at the NBA championship last season: staying in a game after he first felt his hamstring tighten.

The injury occurred on April 2, when the Lakers, riding a 16-2 stretch and looking like genuine title contenders, faced the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Dončić was in the midst of an MVP-caliber stretch of play. Instead, the Thunder routed Los Angeles 139-96.

Dončić told Sports Illustrated he first felt discomfort in his hamstring during the second quarter but chose to keep playing rather than come out of a game that had already slipped away. By the second half, he was visibly grabbing at his leg before being pulled from the contest.

The injury was diagnosed as a Grade 2 hamstring strain. It ended Dončić’s season immediately, sidelining him for the Lakers’ final five regular-season games and the entire postseason.

“When it comes to my spirit of trying to win, I am just stubborn,” Dončić said. “I felt a little bit in the first half that I should have just stopped. I should have come out. I think we had a team that could compete for the championship. I definitely regret it.”

It is the first time Dončić has publicly acknowledged wishing he had handled the moment differently.

With Dončić out, LeBron James, who had been playing a complementary offensive role alongside Dončić and Austin Reaves, took on a larger load in the playoffs. James led the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round, but Oklahoma City eliminated them again in the second round en route to the Spurs facing the Knicks in the Finals.

Whether a healthy Dončić would have changed that outcome is unknowable. What is clear is that the moment marked an ending: James has since moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving Dončić as the lone headline star heading into the Lakers’ 2026-27 season.