The Mavericks have received a less than ideal injury update on Luka Doncic, with the Dallas star expected to miss out on the start of preseason with a calf injury.
Luka Doncic Calf Injury
Luka Doncic played more games than most last season and after Dallas lost to Boston in the NBA Finals, the Slovenian headed straight to the Olympics to represent his country.
The amount of game time Doncic had last year has clearly taken a toll on his body and Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd provided a slightly concerning update on his star ahead of preseason.
“He got hit in the calf, reported it tight, so they got an MRI and saw that it was a strain. There’s no concern at this point about his availability. We’ll see how he feels in a week.”
Mavericks say Luka Doncic suffered a left calf contusion and will be re-evaluated in one week.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 2, 2024
Doncic struggled with his right knee in the playoffs last year, with the Dallas player bleeding through his knee sleeve in multiple games.
Despite his struggles, Doncic didn’t miss out on a single game in the Finals last year and he continued to carry the Mavericks in the postseason despite being eliminated at the final hurdle.
The Slovenian averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists during 2023, in what was his best year in the league so far after six seasons. If Dallas had gone on to win the championship last year, there was no doubt that Doncic would have been named Finals MVP after an impressive run.
Luka Doncic is the 2023-24 NBA scoring champion! pic.twitter.com/JNV9DsmpjY
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) April 15, 2024
Doncic is expected to miss out on some of preseason this year, but there are no concerns that the 25-year-old will be unavailable for the beginning of the regular season.
Dallas plays their first game of the campaign on the 24th of October, after the Mavericks take part in four preseason fixtures in Las Vegas against the Jazz, Grizzlies, Clippers and Bucks.
:focal(1207x489:1209x487)/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/11/07/4059788-82333408-2560-1440.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1)