Luka Dončić suffered a grade 2 left hamstring strain during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, an injury that will sideline the All-Star guard for the remainder of the regular season and likely into the first round of the playoffs.
Shortly after, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith sparked controversy on “First Take” with a controversial comment about the hamstring injury occurring in a blowout. Now, after facing widespread backlash, Smith pushed back against the characterization of his comments.
Stephen A. Smith Backtracks on His Luka Dončić Injury Comments
“It was almost so that it’s a good thing that Luka actually got hurt and had to get taken out in the third quarter because when we saw him holding his hamstring in the first half, a lot of us was like, ‘Wait a minute now, that wasn’t happening when you were dropping 30 plus the last 12, 13, 15 games! But suddenly now your damn hamstring is hurt,” Smith said iin his original remarks. “We were lookin’ at it with a raised eyebrow.
“An a**-kicking will do that to you. It will make you humble, it will make you run for cover, it will make you pretend that you gotta use the bathroom, it will make you pretend you got a family emergency just to get away from those confines.”
Polymarket Hoops called out Smith for accusing Dončić of “faking his injury after the team was getting blown out,” prompting Smith to quote-tweet the post and defend himself.
“Absolute Lie! But go ahead and get your clicks,” he responded.
Absolute Lie! But go ahead and get your clicks https://t.co/YQ0TjFhLJB
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 5, 2026
While his original remarks stopped short of a direct accusation, Smith left little to the imagination. On Friday’s “First Take,” Smith seemed to be questioning whether Dončić was faking or exaggerating his hamstring injury in the first half until the more severe second-half strain proved that the hamstring issue was legit.
Smith’s comments aged poorly within 24 hours as the Lakers confirmed Dončić suffered a partial hamstring tear that would sideline him for the remainder of the regular season and potentially beyond. The injury is the same left hamstring that sidelined him for multiple games back in February, and recurring hamstring issues tend to worsen with each flare-up. Now, he’s out indefinitely.
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The reaction online was swift and unforgiving. Fans and analysts alike called out the take. Some argued that questioning a legitimate injury based on game circumstances crossed a line from sports debate into irresponsible speculation.
Smith’s latest pushback tweet was also largely rejected by the online community. Many reposted the clip of his previous comments to hold him accountable.
Yes you did… You insinuated that Luka was “pretending” that he was hurt to “run away” from the “ass whooping” and even went as far as to say it was “a good thing Luka got hurt”
it’s all on tape https://t.co/TVIHOd80g1 pic.twitter.com/esJm11yk9w
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) April 5, 2026
For the Lakers, the timing couldn’t be worse. Los Angeles sits at 50-27, clinging to the third seed in the Western Conference with Denver just a half-game behind at 50-28. Austin Reaves is also out four-to-six weeks with an oblique injury, leaving LeBron James to shoulder the offensive load through the final week of the regular season.
The Lakers face the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, then have four straight games against Western Conference opponents. A first-round matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves looms if seeding holds. Without Dončić, that series has suddenly become a survival test rather than the start of a potential title run.
