Luka Doncic Spotted Shooting After Practice at Lakers Facility Amid Injury Concerns

The Los Angeles Lakers are deep into their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, and the biggest question hanging over the team is still the same: When will Luka Doncic come back?

ESPN's Dave McMenamin posted a video on X capturing Doncic back on the Lakers practice court. McMenamin described it as "Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean."

In the video, Doncic can be seen working near the free-throw line, doing controlled shooting, one-leg-up drills, catching and shooting passes, and also putting up a three-pointer. It looks like a guy carefully working his way back, one rep at a time.

Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean pic.twitter.com/dofhMZaUdx
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 23, 2026

Doncic has been out since April 2, when he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He then flew to Madrid for specialized stem cell treatment before returning to Los Angeles ahead of the playoffs.

Luka Doncic Injury Update: What JJ Redick Said About His Lakers Return

That said, Lakers head coach JJ Redick gave a more cautious update around the same time. Per reporter Benjamin Royer, Redick confirmed that Austin Reaves is continuing to progress, but Doncic has not yet started court work. The shooting session in the video was individual work done after practice, which is a different thing from a structured activity with teammates.

The shooting session in the video was individual work done after practice, which is a different thing from a structured activity with teammates.

JJ Redick said Austin Reaves is continuing to progress and that Luka Doncic has not started court work yet.
— Benjamin Royer (@thebenroyer) April 23, 2026

This does not change the timeline at all. ESPN's Shams Charania was clear about where things stand: "The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series. He is out indefinitely, but Austin Reaves is making some progress on the court." The Lakers will have to get past Houston without him.

And so far, they are doing exactly that. Without Doncic and Reaves both, Los Angeles won Game 1 against Houston 107-98. Luke Kennard went off for a playoff career-high 27 points, and LeBron James ran the offense with 13 assists. The Lakers then followed it up with another win to go up 2-0 in the series.

Whether Doncic makes it back before this series ends is still unknown. But if the Lakers close out the Rockets and the recovery keeps moving in the right direction, there is a real chance he comes back fully healthy for a second-round matchup against Oklahoma City.

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