Lakers’ Luka Doncic Gets Strong Support From 2 Hall of Famers

Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady have endorsed the idea of the NBA granting Luka Doncic an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” in light of the Los Angeles Lakers star suffering an injury.

Since Doncic sustained his grade 2 hamstring strain in his 64th game of the season, he technically isn’t eligible for end-of-season awards and All-NBA honors. However, the Slovenian plans to appeal to the league, citing the fact that he missed two games in early December to travel to Slovenia for the birth of his second child.

During Sunday’s “NBC on Prime” telecast, Anthony and McGrady — who collectively earned 13 All-NBA selections during their careers — expressed sympathy for Doncic and called on the league to grant him an injury exemption.

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Luka Doncic All-NBA Chances

“The Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge is a thing, right? Where they get an arbitrator, and they come in and see if this warrants a change,” McGrady said.

“I think he’s eligible for that. He should be able to get those two games back.”

“It’s the birth of his child. It’s not an injury,” McGrady continued. “This is not load management. This is the birth of his child, where you’ve gotta fly to another country.

“I’m sure the league is gonna do right by that.”

Anthony agreed with his former fellow NBA scoring champion, adding that Doncic should not be penalized for attending to family matters.

“These are international players. This is why we want them over here,” Anthony said.

“If they need to get back to go take care of family matters and they’re missing games, they shouldn’t be penalized for that.”

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Luka Doncic Seeks Treatment in Europe

Anthony added that the NBA needs to address “a bigger question” regarding the 65-game rule, as Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have also been disqualified from All-NBA honors this year.

Doncic is reportedly determined to accelerate his rehab and rejoin his Lakers teammates for the upcoming NBA playoffs. After being diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain, it was initially believed that he’d miss around three to six weeks. However, the Lakers star has opted for an alternative treatment in Europe, with some sports doctors speculating that Doncic would probably undergo cell-based therapy.

“After consultation with Lakers doctors and his own medical team, Luka Doncic will seek specialized medical treatment in Europe on his Grade 2 left hamstring in an attempt to expedite his return to play,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Sunday.

Stem cell specialist Jesse Morse, MD, believes Doncic’s treatment could be similar to the treatment the late Kobe Bryant received after his Achilles injury in 2013.

“He’s likely getting a combination of MSC’s, placental tissue, exosomes, as well as other treatments not legal here in the United States,” Morse wrote on X.

“Remind me of what Kobe did many years ago. They will be injected under ultrasound guidance directly into each area of weakness in his hamstring.”

Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan