The rising Los Angeles Lakers were slapped with a reality check when they suffered a 139-96 road loss versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. They did not get the chance to properly respond to that shellacking, however, as Luka Doncic suffered a left hamstring strain. The superstar point guard did not suit up again this season. Austin Reaves sustained an oblique strain on the same night and did not return until the NBA playoffs.
LA fell to the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and was forced to meet the reigning NBA champions in the second round. Despite putting up a fight in Game 4, the Lakers watched their once promising season come to an end after being swept by the Thunder in Crypto.com Arena. Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki cannot help but wonder what this team could have achieved with a healthy Doncic.
“It's sad,” the 2011 Finals MVP and NBA on Prime Video analyst said on Monday, per the NBA Courtside X account. “I think they had an opportunity there as well as he was playing. They could’ve beaten anybody. Maybe not OKC, but in March, when they were at their height of their season, I think they felt they could compete with anybody.”
Dirk believes the Lakers could’ve competed with anybody if Luka was healthy:
“I think they had an opportunity there as well as he was playing. They could’ve beaten anybody. Maybe not OKC but in March when they were at their height of their season I think they felt they could… pic.twitter.com/qaUdR2ONYr
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 12, 2026
Nowitzki played his last NBA season with Doncic on the Mavericks in 2018 and formed a close friendship with him, so he is obviously disappointed on a personal level. The German 7-footer's argument does not appear to be rooted in bias, however.
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Like Dirk Nowitzki alluded to, a fully loaded Lakers squad would still be hard-pressed to beat the Thunder — just look at what happened last time — but an active Luka Doncic would surely cause Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault to reconsider his game plan. There is also a chance the Lakers avoid playing the champs in the conference semifinals altogether and instead draw the more inexperienced San Antonio Spurs.
the Doncic-led Purple and Gold were besting quality competition late in the regular season and would have theoretically posed a much fiercer threat with the two-time scoring king on the court. LA should not just assume it would have pushed Oklahoma City to the brink, though. The team must use this postseason exit as motivation to get even better than it was pre-injuries.
Nowitzki thinks Doncic should set his sights on the future.
“I'm sure he's frustrated how the whole thing went down, but there's nothing you can do now,” he cautioned. “Look forward, get in great shape again, get better for next season and see what team they bring.”
The rising Los Angeles Lakers were slapped with a reality check when they suffered a 139-96 road loss versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. They did not get the chance to properly respond to that shellacking, however, as Luka Doncic suffered a left hamstring strain. The superstar point guard did not suit up again this season.