An ESPN graphic update may have quietly revealed when Luka Doncic is expected to return, and the timing could create a major problem for the Lakers before Game 4. That is simply because, according to the update, which the network slipped under the radar on its official preview page for the possibly series-deciding Game 4 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic could return earlier than expected but not early enough for the Lakers.
The Lakers took their third defeat in a row against the defending NBA champion Thunder on Saturday, casting them into a 0-3 hole in the series. That means the Lakers must now become the first team in NBA history to win a seven-game series after losing the first three, out of 161 previous teams that have fallen behind 0-3.
In fact, out of those previous 161 3-0 series, only four teams have ever managed to force a seventh game. When the Boston Celtics did it in 2023, ultimately losing the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat, they were the first team in 20 years to even get that far. In 2003, the Portland Trail Blazers came back from a three-game hole to play Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Before the Lakers have any chance at making history by overcoming their three-game deficit, after losing the first three by a combined 59 points, they must win Game 4 on Monday night. And for that, they could use the return of Doncic.
ESPN Has Estimated Doncic Return 1 Game Too Late
According to the latest estimated return date posted by ESPN for Doncic, the 27-year-old who led the NBA in scoring at 33.5 per game, will come one game too late, unless of course the Lakers suddenly turn their fortunes around and stun Oklahoma City on Monday.
While the ESPN estimate is just that, an estimate, with no independent confirmation as of yet, the network posted the return of Doncic for May 13. That would be Wednesday, the day of a potential Game 5 — a game the Lakers will never see if the series continues to trend in the direction it has been going.
Doncic has been out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain since April 2. The Slovenian superstar returned to Spain, where he played for the European basketball powerhouse Real Madrid from 2015 to 2018, to receive a course of four platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections designed to shorten his recovery time.
Doncic told reporters last week that he was initially projected to have an eight-week recovery period before returning to the basketball court. In his comments, despite the PRP treatments, he did not vary from that timeline. A May 13 return would bring Doncic back after about six weeks.
Lakers’ Desperation After 3rd Straight Blowout
After a 23-point, 131-108 defeat on Saturday, Lakers coach JJ Redick gave a blunt response.
“They’ve kicked our a** three straight games,” Redick said, as quoted by Jack Baer of Yahoo! Sports. “They’re an incredible basketball team.”
If there is a formula for defeating the Thunder, Redick and the Lakers have not found it. Their only hope, according to NBA experts, is to get Doncic back in action.
“The Lakers, without Luka Dončić, just don’t have a chance,” wrote Nick Friedell, Law Murray, Mike Wilson and Dan Woike of The Athletic on Saturday. “At 41, LeBron James can’t be the guy the Lakers can lean on to continually pull them out of a funk. Austin Reaves went just 5-for-13 from the field and didn’t have the answer in the second half, either.”
What’s left for the Lakers now appears to be no more than hope that they can somehow pull out a win in Game 4, and then that the ESPN estimated return date for Doncic is right.
Luka Doncic Return Date Emerges in ESPN Update Before Game 4