Lakers’ Luka Doncic plans to ‘play a little bit’ in All-Star Game despite injury

INGLEWOOD — Lakers star Luka Doncic plans on planning a small portion of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game mini-tournament, he said during Saturday morning’s media availability, setting the stage for a return to action after missing the Lakers’ past four regular-season games with a left hamstring strain.

“I feel pretty good,” said Doncic, who was the leading vote getter for the All-Star Game and leads the NBA with 32.8 points per game. “I’ve been working to get back. Obviously wanted to play the last game (against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday), but it wasn’t possible. I was almost there, so I think I’ll play a little bit.”

Receiving his sixth All-Star nod, his first as a member of the Lakers, isn’t lost on the Slovenian star, whom Lakers coach JJ Redick deemed “day-to-day” across the last week of games.

Doncic called the All-Star Game, and weekend, a chance to relish the midseason honor to play among the league’s best.

“Every All-Star (selection), just blessed,” Doncic said. “I’m going to look back at it. I’m a six-time All-Star now, and not everybody can say they’re an All-Star. So just take everything into the moment and enjoy this.”

Doncic declined to comment on a report from The Athletic that he was set to be part of an investor group looking into acquiring an Italian basketball team with hopes of joining NBA Europe. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league, along with the NBA Players’ Association, are looking into whether active players will be permitted the ability to invest into NBA Europe franchises.

GETTING THE ALL-STAR GAME BACK ON TRACK

Kevin Durant has always considered himself a student of basketball. The insights into how the 37-year-old former league MVP has evolved across his NBA career, studying facets of the game, has led the Houston Rockets star to turn back the clock on the All-Star Game itself.

Durant said he spent the last few weeks watching the All-Star Games of the 1970s through the 1990s, attempting to gauge the “intensity” of what the festivities used to look like, he said.

“I wanted to see what the big deal was and if it was really that much intensity, like Game 7 like y’all said it was back then,” Durant said. “And it wasn’t.”

The All-Star Game format changed once again for the 2026 edition, a part of the NBA’s ever-evolving attempt to increase participation and interest from fans and players alike. On Sunday, the player pool has been split into three teams – USA Stripes, USA Stars and a World squad. They will play in a mini four-game tournament – three round-robin games and a final – to crown an All-Star champion. Each game will last 12 minutes and include an overtime period if necessary.

In recent years, the intensity of the All-Star Game has become a hot topic. Durant made the case Saturday that maybe the event has always lacked the big-game atmosphere, when it comes to the action on the court.

“The intensity the older generation has been talking about, I don’t know if I’ve seen it, you know?” Durant said.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said he was looking forward to being a part of the World team on Sunday, adding that the team’s International stars look forward to facing off against the teams made up of Americans.

“I think it definitely has a chance to (be competitive), and the reason is simple in my opinion: We’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly foreign players, so there is some pride on that side,” Wembanyama said.

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard expressed interest in returning to the East vs. West setup for the All-Star Game, while Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said he was a fan of the ongoing one-on-one tournament the Unrivaled women’s offseason league is holding, and he said he wouldn’t mind seeing the event be replicated for All-Star Weekend.

“I actually love watching it, because it reminds me of the purity of the game,” Brown said. “Like, it’s just mano y mano. You got people on the court talking trash. You’ve got to play two sides. You got to be an offensive and a defensive player. I think that will be great.”

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