Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić will miss at least one week due to a left finger sprain and a lower left leg contusion, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Lakers have been leaning on Dončić to drive his team’s offense in the absence of LeBron James, who is sitting out the start of the 2025-26 season due to sciatica in his right side.
Dončić started out the season with a 43-spot in an Oct. 21 season opener against the Golden State Warriors, although that wasn’t enough to cover for the Lakers’ depth issues as the Warriors claimed a 119-109 win. He followed that up with 49 points in Friday’s 128-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers’ depth will now be even more strained if Dončić is forced to miss any time.
JJ Redick doesn’t have much experience in forming a lineup without Dončić since the Lakers acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks last February in one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.
Although Dončić had been sidelined for over a month with a calf injury at the time of the trade, he sat out just three more contests in Los Angeles before making his Feb. 10 debut.
Dončić then missed just four out of the 31 games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season and appeared in all five playoff games before the Lakers were eliminated from the first round by the Timberwolves.
After signing Dončić to a three-year, $165 million extension this offseason, the Lakers were likely hoping he would be able to stay healthy in case James missed time during his age-41 season.
Austin Reaves will be tasked with leading the backcourt, while the team will look for offseason signing Deandre Ayton to step up into a larger role at the five while Dončić and James are sidelined.