DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be out about a month before being re-evaluated for a calf injury sustained in a Christmas Day loss to Minnesota, a person with knowledge of the injury said Friday.
Doncic underwent an MRI on his strained left calf, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the injury haven't been released.
The absence is almost certain to be long enough to disqualify the five-time All-NBA player from consideration for that and other major awards, including MVP.
Doncic had already missed eight games, including five because of a sprained right wrist, when he pulled up lame while running a play on offense late in the second quarter of a 105-99 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old never made it to the defensive end and limped to the locker room after the Mavericks called a timeout.
The defending Western Conference champion Mavericks play 17 games over the next month, starting Friday night in Phoenix. Doncic entered Friday sixth in the NBA in scoring at 28.1 points per game while averaging 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists.
A 25-game absence would be well beyond the maximum of 15 allowed for players to remain eligible for major awards. The most games Doncic has missed in a season is 17 in 2021-22, before the participation rule went into effect.
The injury happened in Doncic's second game back after missing two games with a left heel contusion. He also is developing a history of issues with his left calf. Doncic missed all or most of the past two preseasons while previously sitting the first three games of the 2022 playoffs.
