Luka Dončić called the March run by Lakers special, felt they could have contended for a title

The ending of the Lakers season was certainly bittersweet.

While they were able to get a playoff victory and go out fighting against the Thunder, it all came under a sense of what could have been after late-season injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić. While the former returned, the latter didn’t, meaning his incredible March performance was the lasting legacy of his incomplete season.

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On a broader scale, that March run is what makes the season feel unfinished. The Lakers legitimately looked like one of the best teams in the league in March and Luka looked like an MVP frontrunner.

After the season came to an end, Luka spoke about that run during March in his exit interview.

“It was pretty amazing,” Luka said. “I think the feeling in the locker room was very good. Every time we stepped on the court, everybody was fighting. Most importantly, everybody was having fun. I think the bond we made was pretty special. Obviously, me and AR got injured in the worst moments. That’s a little bit of bad luck.”

In the moment, it felt like a great run and it’s only looked better in hindsight. They picked up wins over New York, Minnesota, Denver, Houston, Orlando, and Cleveland, all sides that were at least playoff teams and both Eastern Conference Finals participants.

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Would it have been sustainable for more than a month? Could the Lakers have carried that momentum into the playoffs? It’s questions we won’t have answers to. But at least for a moment, fans felt they could compete for a title again.

“I think this season obviously didn’t end how we wanted,” Luka said. “But I feel like the last push we made in the end of the regular season, we thought we could compete for a championship. I think we had a great team.”

The hope now is that the Lakers can capture what worked in March, shape their roster around those ideas and have an entire season of playing at or near that level. Because if they can, they could be playing deep into the playoffs once more.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-don-called-march-run-052546793.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-19 05:25:00

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