Luka Doncic Injury Status For Blazers vs Mavericks

Will the All-NBA superstar guard play for Dallas?

Jan 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (8) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Dallas Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic has been sidelined with a left calf strain since the second quarter of his team's Christmas Day tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The injury appeared to occur during a drive inside against All-Defensive Team Minnesota small forward Jaden McDaniels.

Doncic departed the game and headed for the Mavericks locker room under his own power, albeit with a noticeable limp.

not great pic.twitter.com/hzBPafBGEF

— sarah (@slothanova) December 25, 2024

Per Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Doncic was set to be reassessed a month after the initial ailment, which means he is out for Thursday's clash with the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, and will be sidelined for several weeks beyond that.

“An injury is an injury,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said when news that Doncic would miss at least a month of action first hit, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s had a couple of them this year and we’ve played without him. Next man up mentality. That’s what we’re facing right now. Not just with Luka, but with Dereck Lively out. The depth of our team is being tested and those guys in the locker room are up for the test.”

The 6-foot-6 pro out of Slovenia, 25, will now miss out on being named to what would have been a sixth consecutive All-NBA team this season. Players need to suit up for at least 65 games to qualify for the honor, a mark his injury will make Doncic miss.

Doncic also finished third in MVP voting last year, and has finished among the top eight since 2019-20, his second NBA season. That streak will likely come to an end now, too. Across his 22 healthy games, the reigning Western Conference Finals MVP is averaging 28.1 points on .464/.354/.767 shooting splits, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.0 steals a night.

Eight-time All-Star Dallas guard Kyrie Irving is also on the shelf on Thursday.

As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian notes, the Trail Blazers are still 7.5-point underdogs against Dallas on Thursday. The team has gone a respectable 2-2 during its five-game road trip so far (of which the Mavericks game represents the finale).

The Trail Blazers are an 7.5-point underdog at Dallas tonight and the Mavs will be without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

That line just seems disrespectful.

Does #RipCity win tonight to finish 3-2 on their five-game trip? I say absolutely.@mikegrich pic.twitter.com/8CHudLcBKs

— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) January 9, 2025

Even without Irving or Doncic, the Mavericks managed to blow out a healthy Los Angeles Lakers squad on Tuesday night, 118-97, thanks to a barrage of 3-point shooting. The club has the role player depth to be dangerous on any given night, and the 13-23 Trail Blazers are fairly beatable.

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