Lakers fans were left holding their breath a bit Saturday afternoon.
Luka Doncic, participating in a EuroBasket exhibition game for his native Slovenia, was crashed into by his own teammate and limped off the court during action against Latvia.
During the third quarter, with Latvia in possession, Slovenian teammate Gregor Hrovat defended the ball and fell backward into Doncic’s leg, knocking the Lakers’ star to the floor.
Doncic then hunched over in visible pain under the basket and then limped off to the sideline.
He favored his right leg but was able to walk to the locker room under his own power, and in positive news for Los Angeles, he avoided “serious” injury, according to The Athletic.
Doncic had been in a groove in the first half, dropping 26 points with five assists and four rebounds.
It’s not clear if the injury will affect Doncic’s ability to play in Slovenia’s EuroBasket opener against Poland on Aug. 28.
It’s been a headline-making offseason for Doncic, who signed a three-year, $165 million maximum extension during the first week of August.
“I just signed my extension with the Lakers. Excited to keep working to bring championships to LA and make Laker Nation proud,” Doncic posted on X after inking the deal. “Grateful to the Lakers, my teammates and all the fans who’ve shown so much love since day one. This is just the beginning.”
Doncic’s body transformation has also been at the center of things, including a cover story that featured his two-a-day workouts and protein-forward diet.
In a separate interview with Slovenian TV, he said he’s lost 31 pounds this offseason.
“So every summer I try my best to work on different things,” Doncic told Men’s Health. “Obviously, I’m very competitive. This summer was just a little bit different, you know. It kind of motivated me to be even better. Just visually, I would say my whole body looks better.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
