Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

By Joel Reyes

Luka Doncic’s bid to win his first-ever Most Valuable Player award took a huge hit after he suffered a hamstring injury in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Slovenian star underwent an MRI on Saturday (PH time) and was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The Lakers have ruled him out indefinitely, with Doncic set to miss the remainder of the regular season.

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Doncic has played 64 games for the Lakers this campaign, meaning he will fail to meet the 65-game quota required for players to be eligible for major awards like MVP, All-NBA, and All-Defensive teams.

According to Luka Doncic’s agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, there is still a pathway for his client to be considered for the NBA’s end-of-season awards through the Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images 

Basketball insider Shams Charania posted Duffy’s statement on X: "This season, Luka Dončić has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory.” 

“To ensure that Luka’s incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an ‘Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge’ to the 65-game rule. Luka missed two games this season for the birth of his second child in Slovenia. His daughter was born on Dec. 4 on another continent, and yet he was back in the United States competing with his team on Dec. 6.”

“Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season. His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night’s unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances. We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter."

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

It remains to be seen whether the league would allow Doncic’s request. He is one of the leading contenders for the MVP award, averaging a league-best 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.