It’s no secret that Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been playing through pain throughout the playoffs. That was made beyond clear during warmups before Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Doncic was seen getting wrapped with bandages on multiple parts of his body. The Mavericks star borderline looked like a kid dressing up as a mummy for Halloween.
Luka Doncic wrapped up like a mummy pic.twitter.com/k3nRmluZK9
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) June 9, 2024
Now Luka Doncic is wrapped up around his chest and his leg. Can’t say I know exactly what all that does. pic.twitter.com/SXNlA5c5lN
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) June 10, 2024
Luka Dončić getting wrapped pic.twitter.com/8WYFgU70M5
— 3030 (@jose3030) June 9, 2024
Luka Doncic getting wrapped up pre-game pic.twitter.com/Fl3c4alUr4
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) June 10, 2024
Doncic kept the bandages on up until right before tipoff.
Doncic has been dealing with both back issues and a gimpy knee. At one point in Game 1, Doncic was visibly wincing in pain while putting pressure on his leg. The Mavericks star was also seen grabbing at his rib cage Saturday during his team’s practice before Game 2.
But once the game began, Doncic showed little to no signs of injury. The Slovenian superstar scored nearly half of his team’s points in the first half.
Doncic poured in 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 9/13 shooting from the field after two quarters as the Celtics led 54-51 at the half.
Teams often try to hide the severity of its players’ injuries to avoid giving their opponents a better chance to exploit them. But perhaps Doncic and the Mavericks were trying to do the opposite, making him seem more injured than he actually is.
