Luka Doncic’s Injury: What Happened to Mavericks Star?

Getty Luka Doncic is sidelined with an ankle injury.

Luka Doncic continues to recover from an ankle injury he sustained against the Heat last week. Doncic stepped on the foot of the Heat’s Kendrick Nunn and rolled his ankle during a drive to the basket. Doncic’s injury does not appear to be as severe as originally thought as the Mavericks star could return in as little as two weeks after hurting his ankle, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

“Luka Doncic might be able to return within a couple of weeks after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain last night, sources told ESPN. Doncic likely misses upcoming stretch vs. East power (Bucks, Celtics, 76ers and Raptors this week), but Mavs feel they dodged a bullet,” MacMahon tweeted.

Doncic’s recovery appears to be going well, but the Mavs guard is still expected to remain sidelined for a couple more weeks. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle provided a brief update to ESPN.

“He is responding well to treatment,” Carlisle said, per ESPN. “He is progressing well…If there is an update, it will be Wednesday night. It might not be much of an update at that point, but he’s doing well.”

Prior to the injury, Doncic was averaging 29.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Doncic is a big reason why the Mavericks have one of the best records in the Western Conference.

Doncic’s Injury Has Been Described as a Moderate Ankle Sprain

Doncic is not expected to return to the court before Christmas, per the Dallas News. He did not travel with the team on their recent road trip to Milwaukee as he received treatment on his ankle in Dallas. Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. noted the team has to step up in Doncic’s absence.

“Next man up. Luka obviously is a huge, huge part of this organization and this team,” Hardaway told the Dallas News. “To see him go down is not easy to see. We’ll just try to figure things out; Coach is going to do a great job of putting us in certain situations to be successful.”

The Athletic’s Sam Amick described the scene after Doncic’s injury.

It looked bad – like, really, bad. Not just from 30,000 feet, mind you, but on the replay where the ankle bent at a 90-degree angle and sent him sprawling into that wide row behind the stanchion. The hush came over the crowd. All 20,333 set of eyes, and likely most of the hearts, were drawn to the sight of Doncic grabbing the upper part of his ankle while writhing in pain, then hopping off to the locker room on one leg like a wounded deer fleeing to safety.

Doncic Is Having an MVP-Caliber Season

Giannis Antetokounmpo may be the favorite to once again win the NBA MVP award, but Doncic is a close contender with the way he is playing so far this season. Carlisle explained that Doncic has gotten even better in his second NBA season.

“He’s gotten better in virtually every area,” Carlisle explained to Dallas News. “He’s in phenomenal condition this year. He was in great shape last year, but you learn an awful lot in your first year in the NBA. He was really driven this off-season. And frankly, our team’s different. It’s more well-suited to the style that we play and he plays. I think that’s enhanced things as well. But he’s worked extremely hard.”