The Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing for their playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, set to begin on May 5. Luka Doncic will miss the start of the series due to a hamstring strain sustained on April 2.
Apr 2, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) hops to the side of the court during a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
The adage goes that you need as much luck as talent to win an NBA championship. And for their next playoff series, the Oklahoma City Thunder get the slight leg-up in the former's department. They will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs.
After a week off, the Thunder will host the Lakers for Game 1 on Tuesday, May 5. And as a surprise to absolutely nobody, Luka Doncic will be out to start the Round 2 series. He missed Los Angeles' Round 1 series win over the Houston Rockets with a hamstring strain.
Ironically enough, Doncic sustained the serious injury at OKC on Apr. 2. Over a month later, he remains sidelined. The Lakers are hoping he can fast-track his recovery time to suit up sometime during their Round 2 series against the Thunder.
Doncic's status is the biggest question mark. It hovers over Los Angeles like a storm cloud. Without the MVP candidate, the Thunder should make quick work of the Lakers. And even with him, OKC is viewed as the overwhelming favorite to advance to the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
Luka Doncic is out for the start of the playoff series against the Thunder due to a hamstring strain.
The Thunder will host the Lakers for Game 1 on Tuesday, May 5.
Luka Doncic sustained his hamstring strain during a game against the Thunder on April 2.
The Thunder are considered to have a slight advantage as they prepare for the series without Doncic's presence.
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Fair to say the Thunder have to prep for both possibilities. The Lakers with and without Doncic are two completely different teams. The NBA's scoring champion completely changes the dynamics of Los Angeles. And for the better — he single-handedly raises its ceiling.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said they're preparing for both scenarios. They're also dealing with their own All-NBA absence. Jalen Williams is recovering from a hamstring strain he sustained in OKC's Game 2 win over the Phoenix Suns. Two weeks later, we'll see if he'll be ready to suit up sooner than Doncic.
"It’d be best for everybody if everybody was available all the time. That'd be the best product for the fans, best for me, best for the teams, best for the players. It's obviously not realistic," Daigneault said. "We go into every series preparing for every possibility."
We'll see when and if Doncic returns to face the Thunder. That's the top storyline of this Round 2 series. Depending on how this matchup shakes out over the first couple of games in OKC, it could influence how quickly he rushes back to the floor.
And even if Doncic does return, that opens a can of several other questions — how efficient will he be? Will he need time to knock off any rust after being out for over a month? What are the chances he reaggregates it again? There are a lot of risk-and-reward conversations that'll need to be had.
Regardless, the Thunder are the heavy favorite for a reason. They showed in their four regular-season matchups that they're levels ahead of the Lakers with an eye-popping plus-117 point differential. If the reigning NBA champions are truly capable of going back-to-back, they can't mess around with their food.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder preparing for every Luka Doncic scenario ahead of playoff series