Before the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs Monday night with a 115-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ric Flair continued his public criticism surrounding Luka Doncic’s postseason absence.
Flair took to X, formerly known as Twitter, before tipoff and directed his latest comments toward Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson while defending his stance on Doncic’s injury situation.
“Hey @ShannonSharpe & @ochocinco! My Airplane Crash Wasn’t Choreographed. Broke My Back In 3 Places, And They Said I Would Never Wrestle Again. 250 to 180 Pounds. I Was Back In The Ring 6 Months Later At 218 Pounds. I Said Luka Had As Good A Shot As Anyone In The League Even Steph Curry. I Mean Come On Guys…”
The post marked the latest chapter in Flair’s outspoken remarks about Doncic, who missed the entire postseason after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain during the Lakers’ April 2 loss to Oklahoma City.
Hey @ShannonSharpe & @ochocinco! My Airplane Crash Wasn’t Choreographed. Broke My Back In 3 Places, And They Said I Would Never Wrestle Again. 250 to 180 Pounds. I Was Back In The Ring 6 Months Later At 218 Pounds. I Said Luka Had As Good A Shot As Anyone In The League Even Steph… pic.twitter.com/8wIjy2yFnv
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) May 11, 2026
Early last week, Flair had already gone viral for urging Doncic to play through the injury.
“Luka @lukadoncic, Please Get In The Game! Take A Shot Of Cortisone And Deal With The Pain! They Are Paying You 50 Million A Year, And You’re Not There! WTF! I Hope @JeanieBuss Trades You Next Year. Nobody Wants A Lame Duck On Their Team!”
Flair followed those comments with another message criticizing the Lakers star guard’s absence.
“@lukadoncic, There Is Only One Word That I Can Possibly Say, And That’s DISAPPOINTED. 46 Million Dollars, And You Can’t Play. OMG, I Would Jump Off The Empire State Building With A Parachute For 46 Million Dollars A Year, And I Don’t Even Know How To Pull The Cord To Open It- But I Would Take My Chances.”
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Ric Flair explains Luka Doncic criticism after Lakers’ playoff elimination to Thunder
Despite the harsh tone of his social media posts, Flair later clarified to Yahoo Sports that his comments were rooted more in passion as a longtime Lakers fan than personal criticism toward Doncic.
“I'm not being hard on Luka,” Flair explained. “I just, I'm having fun I'm such a Laker fan that I just honestly believe, of course, I don't know anything about the extent of his injury, but when the first time I saw it, I did the same thing to the quarterback for the 49ers a couple years ago, I said, ‘get back in the game.'”
“You know, I've taken a cortisone shot and wrestled with a broken ankle, so I don't have much sympathy for the hamstring. But I know that they protect their future and I don't blame them for that. They got guaranteed money, I just, I'm a George Mikan, I've been a Laker fan that long.”
Doncic completed his eighth NBA season averaging a league-leading 33.5 points along with 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three-point range across 64 appearances.
Without Doncic available in the postseason, the Lakers were forced to rely heavily on LeBron James and Austin Reaves before ultimately falling to Oklahoma City in four games.
Flair’s comments added another layer to the ongoing discussion surrounding player injuries, expectations and the balance between long-term health and postseason urgency.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs Monday night with a 115-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ric Flair continued his public criticism surrounding Luka Doncic’s postseason absence. Flair took to X, formerly known as Twitter, before tipoff and directed his latest comments toward Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson while defending his stance on Doncic’s injury situation.