The Mavericks have retooled their roster ahead of the 2023-24 season but the team needs Luka Doncic to perform at an All-NBA level in order to maximize its potential. A preseason injury might limit Doncic's contributions to begin the year.
Doncic is gearing up for his first full season alongside All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who Dallas moved to acquire ahead of last season's trade deadline. The duo will look to lead a Mavericks team that has added Seth Curry and Grant Williams in addition to rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper this offseason.
How will Doncic be impacted by this injury setback? Here is what we know about Doncic's injury as well as a historical look at how injuries have affected him throughout his career.
MORE: Where Luka Doncic ranks among the NBA's top point guards
What is Luka Doncic's injury?
On Monday, Oct. 9, Doncic suffered a left calf strain during practice ahead of Dallas' meeting with Real Madrid on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Because Doncic was honored by his former club ahead of the game, he played in the exhibition but was limited to just five minutes of action in the game. Doncic was ruled out of the Mavericks' preseason finale on Oct. 20.
With the Mavericks set to open the season on Oct. 25 against the Mavericks, Doncic's status is still unclear.
"We don't know yet," Doncic said of his availability following practice on Oct. 24. "I've been practicing for two days now and I feel pretty good but we'll see how it feels tomorrow morning."
Doncic added that he has had no limitations in either of the practices but added that "two days of practice is different than two weeks of just lifting and strength."
The last time Doncic suffered a calf injury was ahead of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. He was sidelined for a total of 12 days with the injury. There will be a total of two weeks between Doncic's last on-court action and Dallas' season opener on Oct. 25.
It's worth noting that Doncic logged heavy minutes during the offseason, seeing 257 minutes of high-intensity action during the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Doncic also represented Slovenia at the Olympics in 2021 and FIBA EuroBasket in 2022.
Luka Doncic injury history
Luka Doncic has appeared in 330 of a possible 393 regular season games through the first five seasons of his NBA career. Doncic has sustained eight injuries that kept him sidelined for more than one regular season game.
Doncic also sustained a strained left calf during the finale of the 2021-22 regular season. The injury held him out of the first three games of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
- Feb. 22-23, 2019: Sore right ankle (2 games)
- March 31-April 7, 2019: Bruised right thigh (4 games)
- Dec. 15-26, 2019: Sprained right ankle (4 games)
- Jan. 31-Feb. 12, 2020: Sprained right ankle (8 games)
- Nov. 16-23, 2021: Left ankle and knee injuries (3 games)
- Dec. 11-21, 2021: Sore left ankle (5 games)
- April 12-23, 2022: Strained left calf (3 games)*
- Jan. 10-18, 2023: Sore left ankle (3 games)
- Feb. 4-11, 2023: Bruised right heel (4 games)
- March 11-20, 2023: Strained left thigh (5 games)
- Oct. 9—Present: Strained left calf (TBD)
Mavericks schedule 2023-24
Here are the first 10 games of Dallas' schedule in the 2023-24 season.
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| Oct. 25 | at Spurs | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Oct. 27 | vs. Nets | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Oct. 30 | at Grizzlies | 8 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 1 | vs. Bulls | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 3 | at Nuggets | 10 p.m. | ESPN |
| Nov. 5 | vs. Hornets | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 6 | at Magic | 7 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 8 | vs. Raptors | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 10 | vs. Clippers | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Nov. 12 | at Pelicans | 7 p.m. | — |
