Luka Doncic Out For Regular Season With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain, Playoff Status Uncertain

The injury also pushes Doncic below the 65-game threshold required for end-of-season award eligibility. His agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, told ESPN's Shams Charania that he will file an Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge on his client's behalf. This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory, Duffy said in a statement. To ensure that Luka's incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league's end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an 'Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge' to the 65-game rule. Duffy cited Doncic's early return from Slovenia following the December 4 birth of his second child as additional context for the filing. Doncic was back competing for the Lakers on December 6. In 64 appearances this season, Doncic leads the NBA with 33.5 points per game and ranks third in assists (8.3), second among guards in rebounds (7.7) and sixth in steals (1.6). He finished a distant fourth in ESPN's final NBA MVP straw poll of 100 media members, trailing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic. Los Angeles holds the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, one game ahead of Denver and 2.5 ahead of Houston, with tiebreakers secured against both clubs.