ALL-STAR STATUS: WILL LUKA DONčIć ACTUALLY SUIT UP FOR THE WORLD TEAM ON SUNDAY
Luka Dončić and DeAndre Ayton are OUT for the Lakers tonight. Analyse the impact on Luka’s MVP eligibility and the 2026 All-Star Game.
JJ Redick didn’t hide his frustration after the Lakers picked up another foul. Honestly, you can’t blame him; the team’s running on fumes.
Thursday night, the Lakers face the Mavericks at home, wrapping things up before the All-Star break. But they’ll do it shorthanded. Luka Dončić is still out with that stubborn left calf strain. Deandre Ayton? Also sitting, thanks to a sore knee.
Missing both guys at this point in the season? That’s rough. Dončić drives the offence; Ayton holds down the paint. Now Redick’s got to juggle minutes and shuffle roles just to keep things afloat heading into the break.
Ayton’s situation hasn’t really improved. He tweaked his knee last weekend and, since then, has barely played, making just one short appearance in the last four games. He did return on Monday, put in 29 minutes, but looked off. He scored just six points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and you could tell he wasn’t right.
Redick said after the Warriors game, “He went out for his shooting stretch and just didn’t feel completely comfortable with it. I don’t think there’s any reason to believe it’s anything but day-to-day.” So, they’re playing it safe. Ayton will sit for the third time in four games. So far this season, he’s averaging 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and a block per night. He signed on with the Lakers last summer—two years, $16.2 million, with a player option for year two after leaving Portland.
Dončić’s absence stings for a different reason. With this being his fourth straight missed game (and 12th overall this season), he’s barely holding on to eligibility for those end-of-year awards. The NBA says you’ve got to play at least 65 games for MVP or All-NBA honours, so Dončić can only skip five more games the rest of the way. Out of 28 games left after the break, he needs to play in at least 23 to stay in the running.
Last year, he missed too much time, just 50 games split between Dallas and LA, again because of that calf, and fell short of All-NBA. Before that, he made five straight All-NBA First Teams, the youngest ever to do it. In 2024, he joined a pretty exclusive club, becoming just the fourth guy to lock in five First Team spots within his first six seasons.
In the MVP chase, Dončić sat at No. 2 before the break, just behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’d actually passed Nikola Jokić earlier, but now this injury threatens to slow him down again. The Lakers haven’t ruled him out for Sunday’s All-Star Game, so there’s hope he returns for next week’s game against the Clippers.
With Dončić and Ayton both out, the Lakers are leaning hard on LeBron James and Austin Reaves. LeBron, who rested Tuesday against the Spurs, should be back in the lineup. Reaves is still ramping up after missing 19 games with his own calf injury, but he’s been solid with 20.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in just under 25 minutes a night since he returned.
So, just one more game where LeBron and Reaves have to do the heavy lifting. The Lakers are crossing their fingers that the All-Star break gives everybody a chance to heal up before the season’s final push.
JJ REDICK CREDITS ROSTER STABILITY FOR LAKERS' RISE TO THIRD SEED
JJ Redick leads the Lakers to a 15-2 March as Luka Dončić dominates the 2026 MVP race and scoring charts.
JJ Redick’s only in his second year as head coach, but he’s already shaping the Lakers into a real contender again. Sure, the season started a bit rough, with injuries, lineup shuffles, all that stuff, but now the team’s rolling. They went 15-2 in March. At this point, they’re locked in as the third seed in the West.
So what changed? Redick points straight to health. After beating Cleveland 127-113 on Tuesday, he said, “It really started with being healthy.” He’s right. With guys finally able to play night after night, it’s a lot easier to settle into roles, find some rhythm, and stick with rotations. Early on, the Lakers couldn’t manage that recipe. Once everyone bought in or just relaxed into what the team needed, things started to click.
Redick even gave a nod to Luka Dončić for having one of those scorching stretches that you just remember. “I think Luka’s had as good a month as anybody I can remember in the modern NBA. LeBron’s had those, Harden has had those, Steph too, but what Luka’s doing right now just wow. And the rest of our guys have been huge, too.”
Luka’s basically taking over the MVP conversation. In March, he snapped off averages of 37.5 points, 8 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.4 steals, with some wild efficiency. He’s leading the league in scoring, too, just shredding defences at 33.8 points per game. But get this: LeBron James and Austin Reaves aren’t even in Luka’s shadow. LeBron’s still putting up 20.7 points, 6 boards, and 7 assists on the regular. Reaves is at 23.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. Pool them together, and those three guys account for nearly two-thirds of the Lakers’ offence every night.
Redick also threw credit around the whole locker room. When asked about players’ roles, he rattled off the hits: “Austin Reaves getting healthy, LeBron doing everything, DA and Jaxson Hayes crashing and battling, Kennard and Rui for shooting, LaRavia and Marcus Smart on D, Bronny, Vando, Maxi just stepping up.” Everyone’s doing their bit, and you can feel it.
Yeah, it’s been a strong stretch, but the Lakers aren’t done. Six games are left in the regular season, and seeds are still up for grabs. They’re 3.5 games ahead of Minnesota for that last playoff lock. The top six are already theirs, but they're not coasting just yet; they want the best spot possible.
The thing is, the West isn’t forgiving. Oklahoma City and San Antonio are monsters this year, sitting on the NBA’s two best records. The Lakers’ path to the Finals won’t be easy. But if they stay healthy and keep playing like this, you’ve got to give them a shot.
RORY MCILROY OFFICIALLY ENTERS 2026 MASTERS DEFENSE FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL BACK INJURY RECOVERY
Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta to defend his Masters title after completing the Career Grand Slam in 2025.
Rory McIlroy called it a “truly surreal” moment walking onto the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland with all four Major trophies around him. Hard to blame him. After years chasing that last piece, he finally nailed down the elusive Masters title just under a year ago, beating Justin Rose in a playoff and slipping into the Green Jacket at last.
Now, at 36, McIlroy sits with five Majors in the bag. He started with the US Open in 2011, then won the PGA Championship in 2012, and delivered a huge 2014, winning both The Open and a second PGA. That run put him close, but not over the line for the Grand Slam. He had to wait more than ten years before Augusta finally gave in and let him complete the set.
To mark the milestone, Rory posted a shot on social media: there he is, Green Jacket on, all four trophies lined up at the Causeway, the Masters Trophy, the Claret Jug, the Wanamaker Trophy, and the US Open Trophy. “As a kid growing up in Northern Ireland, I dreamed of winning all four majors,” he wrote. “Being able to bring these trophies home was truly surreal.”
It looks like he snapped the photo while filming a new documentary, “The Masters Wait,” all about his long road to the Grand Slam. The film landed on Amazon Prime this week.
And the journey isn’t over yet. McIlroy is set to defend his Masters crown at Augusta next week, when the tournament starts on April 9. The PGA Championship comes right after, set for May in Pennsylvania, then the US Open in June at Shinnecock Hills, and finally, The Open returns in July at Royal Birkdale.
Ranked No. 2 in the world, Rory’s aiming to join a very short list; he’d become only the fourth player to defend the Masters, after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods.
He’s dealing with a back injury right now. He picked it up during the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month and hasn’t played since the Players Championship. Still, nothing suggests he’ll miss the Masters, and at the very least, he’ll be there at Augusta to host his first Champion’s Dinner on Tuesday night, in honour of last year’s victory.
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