Midway through the second quarter, Luka Doncic tried one of his patented step-back moves, pulled up midway through it, passed the ball out and soon walked off the court not to return with what the Mavericks called a calf strain.
Doncic left the arena on crutches with further testing coming Thursday, but the team is bracing for him to miss “extended” time, reports Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic has a history of calf issues, although what “extended means will come down to the MRI results. However, a grade 2 calf strain usually means a player missing about a month and around 15 games, reports Jeff Stotts at In Street Clothes.
While Doncic is out, more offensive responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Kyrie Irving, with Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie likely getting a little more run, too.
Doncic — who is in the MVP conversation again this season, averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists a game — has already missed eight games this season due to injuries (the Mavs are 6-2 in those games). If Doncic misses 10 more games due to this calf strain, he will fall short of the NBA’s 65-game threshold to qualify for postseason awards, including MVP and All-NBA.
Doncic is eligible for a super-max contract extension after this season, and this injury will not impact that even if he does not qualify for postseason awards (he’s already met the super-max criteria). He will make $46 million next season and has a player option for the 2026-27 season, which would be torn up to make way for his new contract—one Dallas will gladly give him without blinking.
