As the Los Angeles Lakers work on gaining a two-game lead over the Houston Rockets, they took some time to honor their superstar guard, Luka Doncic, on the court.
In street clothes, Doncic accepted his NBA scoring champion trophy at center court at Crypto.com Arena.
via Dave McMenamin, ESPN: The Lakers presented Luka Doncic with trophies for the 2025-26 scoring title and being named the Western Conference Player of the Month for March during a first-quarter timeout
Doncic lands the award after appearing in 64 games for the Lakers in 2025-2026. He shot 47.6% from the field and hit on 36.6% of his threes throughout the year. Doncic averaged 33.5 points per game.
The 2025-2026 NBA season marked the second time in Doncic’s career that he led the NBA in points per game. The first time he reached that mark was during the 2023-2024 NBA season. At the time, Doncic averaged 33.9 points with the Dallas Mavericks.
Will Doncic Get A Chance To Play In The Playoffs?
When Doncic accepted his trophy during Game 2 on Tuesday, the veteran guard was not suited up. He continues to recover from a hamstring strain.
Doncic suffered the setback during an April 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Amid a 139-96 Lakers loss, Doncic checked out after 25 minutes. He produced 12 points, seven assists, and four rebounds during that time.
The Lakers played the final five games without Doncic. He also missed the first two games of the first-round series against the Rockets.
Before Game 2, Lakers head coach JJ Redick announced that there wasn’t a timeline update to reveal regarding Luka. Doncic recently returned to the court to do some light shooting, but he’s expected to return to on-court work “soon,” according to Redick.
While that’s a positive sign for Doncic, the NBA insider Shams Charania reported a concerning update hours before Game 2 tipped off. The ESPN reporter stated that the Lakers are “not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series.”
If the Lakers can advance, there is a chance that Doncic takes the floor. As far as round one, all signs are pointing to Doncic missing out.