The Los Angeles Lakers entered Thursday’s showdown the Oklahoma City Thunder harboring “statement game” aspirations. After rolling through March as one of the NBA’s hottest teams, the Lakers had a chance to prove themselves as a true contender against the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. Instead, they were humbled by the defending champions in a night that just went from bad to worse.
The Thunder raced out to a 9-2 lead before two minutes had even passed, setting the tone for a miserable night for the Lakers. The halftime lead was 31 and Oklahoma City would eventually push the lead into the 40s. But the outcome of a single game can do only so much damage. An injury is another matter entirely. And in the third quarter, Lakers star Luka Dončić hobbled off of the court with a left hamstring injury that ended his night.
Dončić will have an MRI tomorrow, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, but the Lakers really don’t have much wiggle room here. The regular season ends in 10 days. The Lakers have just a one-game lead for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference — seemingly safe with Dončić and a tiebreaker over Denver, far less so if Dončić needs to miss games. If the Lakers fall down to No. 4, they’d have to face this Thunder team again in the second round. And of course, if the injury lingers, it could affect Dončić in the postseason.
Further, the injury complicates Dončić’s pursuit of his first ever MVP award. Though he has been a heavy underdog to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all season, Dončić picked up steam throughout a historic March and could have used Thursday’s head-to-head showdown as a way to pick up some needed momentum. Now he not only lost the game, but potentially his awards eligibility as well. Dončić has played in 64 games. The threshold for eligibility is 65. Depending on the severity of this injury, Dončić could go from MVP candidate to missing out an All-NBA in a single night.
Dončić has nothing material to gain by making an All-NBA Team, of course. By getting traded to the Lakers he lost his chance at supermax eligibility, instead signing a standard max extension last offseason. But March was the best month of Dončić’s career and legitimate MVP shots are rare. Dončić may have just lost his shot at one.
As nice as the MVP trophy looks on a mantle, it isn’t the one the Lakers are seeking. If this team is going to meaningfully compete with the Thunder for the Larry O’Brien in June, having a healthy Dončić is going to be essential. Even with him, they were no match for Oklahoma City on Thursday. It’s hard to imagine a worse outcome for a regular-season game in April. Now the organization holds its breath and awaits the results of Dončić’s MRI on Friday.
