NBA Champion's Luka Doncic Criticism Doesn't Make Sense

Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

NBA Champion's Luka Doncic Criticism Doesn't Make Sense

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated May 15, 2026 7:18 AM ET

Luka Doncic led the Los Angeles Lakers in scoring (33.5), assists (8.3) and steals (1.6), while ranking second in rebounds (7.7) during the 2025-26 NBA season. Unfortunately, he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain, forcing him to miss the last 15 games of the campaign and L.A.'s entire playoff run.

The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets in the first round even without Doncic, but the Oklahoma City Thunder swept them in the second round.

Naturally, Doncic's absence sparked frustration among fans and harsh criticism from the media. For one, Lakers diehard and WWE legend Ric Flair constantly bashed the Slovenian star during the playoffs, calling him a "lame duck" and a massive disappointment.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures during a game at Crypto.com Arena. William Liang-Imagn Images

On Thursday, just three days after the Lakers' playoff exit, one-time NBA champion Kendrick Perkins added more criticism of Doncic while appearing on ESPN's "First Take."

Perkins, who won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics back in 2008, questioned Doncic's ability to stay healthy in the postseason and claimed that he's now showing a tendency to disappear when it matters most.

"Luka Doncic, for the last three years, it's been something come postseason time, whether it's been out of shape or him dealing with some type of injuries, and [the] majority of the time it comes to soft tissue injuries," Perkins explained.

While the former NBA big man acknowledged that Doncic is a "fantastic talent" and one of the best scorers the game has ever seen, he simply couldn't trust him to carry a team.

"When it comes to being reliable, Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most and it comes postseason time, he's not available. And if he is available, he's never close to 70% because he's always dealing with injuries."

"Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most, and it comes postseason time, he's not available."

—@KendrickPerkins on if the Lakers should prioritize Luka or LeBron pic.twitter.com/OjSUbQo4gU
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 14, 2026

Why Kendrick Perkins' Luka Doncic Take Doesn't Make Sense

The problem with Perkins' opinion, however, is that it's devoid of facts. Prior to the 2026 postseason, Doncic made the playoffs in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Among all those playoff appearances, there was only one year when Doncic missed a playoff game: in 2022 when he missed the first three games of the first round due to a left calf strain.

That same playoff run, however, Doncic powered the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals.

It's also worth noting that just two seasons ago, in 2024, Doncic carried the Mavs to the NBA Finals.

Doncic has played in 55 playoff games in his NBA career, averaging 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals.

While it's unfortunate that Doncic wasn't able to recover in time for the Lakers in this year's playoff run, it doesn't really prove that he's not reliable, as Perkins makes it out to be.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: