Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić will be out for about a month before being re-evaluated for a calf injury he sustained during a Christmas Day loss to Minnesota, according to a source familiar with the injury.
Dončić had an MRI on his strained left calf, but the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said details of the injury have not been made public.
His absence is expected to last long enough that he will likely miss out on major awards, including MVP, this season. Dončić had already missed eight games, five of them due to a sprained right wrist, when he hurt his calf late in the second quarter of the Mavericks’ 105-99 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old did not return to the game, limping to the locker room after the Mavericks called a timeout.
The Mavericks, who are the defending Western Conference champions, will play 17 games in the next month, starting Friday night in Phoenix. Dončić was sixth in the NBA in scoring at 28.1 points per game and also averaged 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists.
If Dončić misses 25 games, that would put him well beyond the 15-game maximum required for players to remain eligible for major awards. The most games Dončić has missed in a season so far is 17, which happened in 2021-22 before the current participation rule was put in place.
This injury occurred in Dončić’s second game back after missing two games due to a left heel contusion. Dončić has also had a history of left calf issues, having missed parts of the previous two preseasons and sitting out the first three games of the 2022 playoffs.
The Mavericks, who are currently in fourth place in the Western Conference, are 6-2 without Dončić this season. A big part of that success has been his backcourt teammate Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 24 points per game when Dončić is out.
In the offseason, the Mavericks also added four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson from Golden State. Thompson’s shooting ability has helped the team cope with Dončić’s absence.
Spencer Dinwiddie, who was crucial to the Mavericks’ surprising 2022 run to the Western Conference finals, has returned to Dallas and will take on more minutes while Dončić is out.
Another offseason addition, Naji Marshall, scored at least 20 points in each of the first four games Dončić missed due to his wrist injury. Marshall was sidelined by illness for a stretch of five games but has played in the last four games.
