Mavs’ Luka Doncic gives concerning update on leg injury

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic issued a rather concerning update on a leg injury that he continues to try to play through at the FIBA World Cup for his native Slovenia.

Doncic told reporters on Friday that his leg is “not OK” after initially suffering the injury in March.

“I do not know what to say,” Doncic told the media. “It’s not OK. At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA.”

He would go on to add that he will play no matter what, even in Olympic qualifiers, as long as he is healthy. 

Doncic made the comments following Slovenia’s 100-84 loss to Lithuania, setting up a seventh-place match against Italy on Saturday. He said that he was still processing Slovenia’s previous loss to Canada during that game and had trouble sleeping, while adding that his legs were feeling heavy. 

“I haven’t slept much, the sensations are still very strange,” he said. “The legs were heavy. I hope we play better in the next game. But we have to see how my leg will be.”

It has to be mildly concerning for the Mavericks that Doncic is still having issues and talking about “heavy” legs when the NBA season still has not even started yet. He was sensational for the Mavericks during the 2022-23 season, averaging a career-high 32.4 points per game. 

Still, the leg injury hasn’t really slowed him down much at the World Cup where he has managed to put 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game on the board. 

Doncic initially injured his thigh in March while playing for the Mavericks and underwent an MRI that revealed no damage. 

Even with Doncic’s great year, the Mavericks were still only 38-44 and desperately need him to be healthy to have a chance this season. They report to training camp in a few weeks. Hopefully for their sake, that break between now and then will give his leg the rest it needs to get ready for a long NBA season.