Luka Doncic hasn’t played for Dallas since Christmas day however his team is confident that their five time All-Star will return to action before the All-Star break.
Mavericks Anticipating Luka Doncic Return
Although they lost on Tuesday night in the second of two back to back games against the Nuggets, Dallas received a positive update on Luka Doncic who is expected to make his return to the court shortly before the upcoming All-Star break.
Doncic was ruled out on Christmas day against Minnesota, with the 25-year-old suffering from a calf injury that saw him head straight into the locker room.
The initial re-evaluation date on Doncic’s injury is supposed to be on January 25th but Dallas may expect their five time All-Star to be on the bench slightly longer.
Speaking after the loss to Denver, TNT reporter Jared S. Greenberg provided a positive update on Doncic:
TNT’s terrific sideline reporter @JaredSGreenberg reported on-air that Mavs are confident Luka Doncic will be back in action before the All-Star break.
The Mavs already had announced that Doncic won’t be re-evaluated until late January. The All-Star break is Feb. 14-16.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 15, 2025
Doncic has averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game so far this season, making him by far the most important player on the Dallas roster.
The Mavericks have also been struggling without their other team leader, with Kyrie Irving sidelined alongside Doncic for much of the last month after bulging a disc in his back.
Irving made his return to the court in Tuesday’s loss to Denver, scoring 11 points after missing the past five games.
The Mavs lost three of their five games without both Irving and Doncic in the lineup.
Doncic Out Of MVP Race
Although he is expected to return to the court within the next month, Luka Doncic is now ineligible for the MVP award this season.
After missing his 17th game of the season on Tuesday night Doncic officially won’t be able to play the required 65 games in a year to make him a contender for the prestigious award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over as the favourite for MVP this year as per the best online sportsbooks, with the OKC guard overtaking Nikola Jokic in the race after Denver’s star suffered a minor setback with illness last week.
With Doncic unable to play 65 games this year he will also break his streak of five years in the All-NBA first team.
