In a massive bit of good news for the Dallas Mavericks, superstar guard Luka Doncic has been given the greenlight to play in their season opener against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Doncic has been dealing with a left calf injury throughout the preseason, so he was listed as questionable to play in their first game of the 2023-24 campaign. Fortunately, the Slovenian superstar seems to have recovered just in time for the showdown.
“Dallas' Luka Doncic has been cleared to make his regular-season debut tonight in San Antonio,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported.
Luka Doncic injury details
Luka Doncic has been nursing the calf issue since their exhibition showdown with his former team, Real Madrid. While he played in that game, he only featured for five minutes before the Mavs let him sit out the rest of the contest. The 24-year-old guard had been sidelined ever since then, missing out their other preseason games as a result.
For what it's worth, Doncic did raise hopes up about his playing status in the opener. Speaking to reporters a day before the meeting, he highlighted that he's progressing well. While it was clear in his comments that he was not yet at 100 percent at that point, the fact that he's been given the greenlight to play suggests that the injury will no longer be an issue.
“I've been practicing for two days now and I feel pretty good,” Doncic shared. “We'll see how it feels tomorrow morning.”
The Mavs' success lies on Doncic, so it would have been quite the blow had he suffered from a long-term injury. Luckily for Dallas, that's not the case. Now, the hope is for Doncic to stay healthy and lead the team back to the postseason after missing out on it in 2022-23.
It would have also been quite the disappointment had Doncic missed his showdown with his fellow European star in Victor Wembanyama. Many fans have been waiting for the battle between the two stars, who could very well be the faces of not only European basketball but the NBA as well for the years to come.
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