Lakers' NBA Finals Odds Drop Again After Latest Luka Doncic Injury Update

The Los Angeles Lakers are facing an uphill battle in the second round of the playoffs against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and it appears their path may have gotten even harder.

Superstar guard Luka Doncic, who has not played since early April with a hamstring injury, recently shared updates on his recovery, and it seems like he's a long shot to make it back in this series before it's too late.

Doncic has started running, but the star guard has not been cleared for contact ahead of Thursday's Game 2. Doncic has already been ruled out for that game, but it appears he's facing an uphill battle to return when the series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.

He was originally given an eight-week timeline to return, and it's only been about five weeks since the Lakers star went down.

Luka Doncic (hamstring) updates:

- Said he's started running
- Has yet to be cleared for full contact
- Said his original timetable given to him was 8 weeks (his injury occurred about 5 weeks ago)
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 6, 2026

As a result, the Lakers have seen their Finals odds drop again after going from +2800 to +4000 following their Game 1 loss on Tuesday night. Los Angeles is now +4500 to win the Finals, and it's a +1200 underdog to upset the Thunder in the second round. In the "correct score" ods at DraftKings, Oklahoma City is now an odds-on favorite at -105 to sweep the Lakers in the second round.

That's a sign that Doncic may not be able to return in this series, and the Lakers are now 0-5 against the Thunder in the 2025-26 season, including four losses by 18 or more points.

The Lakers' offense simply isn't good enough without Doncic, who averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3 during the regular season.

Finding scoring outside of LeBron James has been a major issue for the Lakers, who have failed to reach 100 points in each of their last four playoff games. If Doncic is unable to return for Games 3 or 4, there's a chance the Lakers' season will be over, so betting on their odds to win the Finals is an extremely risky endeavor.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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