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Lakers’ Luka Doncic during a game against the Toronto Raptors on January 18, 2026
The Los Angeles Lakers have spent much of the season managing depleted depth, but in recent games, the impact has reached the very top of the roster.
Health concerns surrounding Luka Doncic have steadily intensified in recent weeks, culminating in his absence from Saturday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers due to left groin soreness.
It was an issue Doncic has openly acknowledged had been lingering rather than something that surfaced overnight.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed that an MRI on the 26-year-old “was good,” adding that the injury would continue to be monitored on a day-to-day basis.
Lakers See Luka Doncic Return Amid Ongoing Questions
Doncic returned to the floor on Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back as the Lakers earned a 110-93 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The Slovenian logged 33 minutes, finishing with 25 points, two rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block. The night was uneven from the field, as he shot 8-23 overall, but he connected on 5-12 attempts from three-point range.
After the game, however, Doncic addressed his health again, offering more honesty without clarity.
“It’s ok, not bad,” he said. “But obviously I’m gonna try to play through it.”
The comment does little to fully settle concerns. Doncic is averaging the fourth-highest minutes load in the NBA at 36.3 per night, and his remarks suggest the discomfort hasn’t fully subsided.
The lack of specificity around the injury has continued to raise red flags, particularly given how difficult soft tissue issues can be to manage over the course of a long season.
The Lakers have won just two of their past seven games, and while the victory over Toronto helped stabilize the moment, it doesn’t erase the broader concern.
An extended absence from Doncic would dramatically alter the Lakers’ short-term outlook, yet pushing him through discomfort risks allowing a manageable issue to escalate into something far more disruptive.
Lakers Walking a Fine Line With Doncic’s Health
The Lakers have already had to manage multiple injury interruptions involving Doncic this season, including a left finger sprain, a lower left leg contusion, and another leg-related issue that resurfaced in December, each costing him time.
Earlier this month, Ashish Mathur of Lakers Daily reported that Doncic had been playing through significant discomfort, citing sources who described “a lot of pain” and lingering issues across multiple areas.
That report suggested his explosiveness and outside shooting had been impacted despite extensive treatment.
Those claims were later disputed by Dan Woike of The Athletic, who noted that his sources pushed back on the severity of that portrayal.
Still, the situation has remained fluid, particularly given Doncic’s own comments and the way his availability has been handled in recent games.
With the Lakers sitting near the bottom of the league in bench production and defensive metrics, the need for reinforcements has become increasingly apparent.
It’s not only about roster balance, but also about reducing the physical and creative burden placed on both Doncic and a 41-year-old LeBron James.
Los Angeles improved to 25-16 with the win over Toronto and currently sit sixth in a tightly packed Western Conference. However, they’re just half a game clear of the play-in zone, a margin that leaves little room for prolonged instability.
How the Lakers manage Doncic’s health in the coming weeks may ultimately determine whether they steady themselves or slide further into uncertainty.
Matt Evans is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans
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