After the Lakers were eliminated by the Thunder, Luka Dončić told reporters he was not close to returning from his Grade 2 left hamstring strain.

Dončić reaggravated his left hamstring April 2 against Oklahoma City. An MRI later revealed a Grade 2 strain, and the Lakers ruled him out for the remainder of the regular season.

Days after the diagnosis, Dončić traveled to Europe and underwent platelet-rich plasma injections. He returned to Los Angeles before the playoffs began.

Last week, Dončić told reporters his original return timeline was eight weeks. He said he has been running and shooting, but had not progressed to contact work in practice.

After the Lakers were swept by the Thunder, Dončić addressed his injury status.

“I know some people wanted me back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing,” Dončić said. “There was some stuff in the media that went out that wasn’t true. None of those people saw my MRIs or know anything, so it wasn’t really true.”

Dončić also told reporters he would not play for Slovenia this summer in FIBA World Cup qualifying games.

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