Overview
- Dončić said he tweaked his left hamstring on April 2 and regrets staying in that blowout game instead of coming out at halftime.
- The tweak progressed to a medically confirmed Grade 2 hamstring strain that kept Dončić sidelined for the rest of the season.
- Coach JJ Redick has said team trainers checked Dončić at halftime, cleared him to play, and that staff debated whether to sit the starters.
- Dončić told fans in August he had fully recovered and he praised his partnership with LeBron James while denying any tension between them.
- The admission shifts scrutiny to in-game medical decisions and makes Dončić's and Austin Reaves's health a central factor for the Lakers as they reset after LeBron James's departure.