Ric Flair Sends Another Message to Luka Doncic, LeBron James Before Game 2

Legendary wrestler Ric Flair made waves around the basketball world after Game 1 of the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder, calling out Luka Doncic for not playing through his hamstring injury.

Doncic suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain during a loss to the Thunder on April 2. He missed the remainder of the regular season, the Lakers’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets and is now expected to miss the rest of Los Angeles’ second-round series against the defending NBA champions.

“Luka @lukadoncic, Please Get In The Game! Take A Shot Of Cortisone And Deal With The Pain! They Are Paying You 50 Million A Year, And You're Not There! WTF! I Hope @JeanieBuss Trades You Next Year. Nobody Wants A Lame Duck On Their Team!” Flair wrote on social media after the Lakers’ 108-90 Game 1 loss.

Just hours before Thursday night’s Game 2 matchup, Flair posted another message on social media. The 77-year-old retired wrestler is confident that LeBron James can still get the job done without Doncic on the court.

“With Or Without @lukadoncic, I'm So Confident That @KingJames Will Prevail Tonight! You Can Sit On The Sidelines Or Be In The Game. WOOOOO!” he wrote.

More Basketball:Kendrick Perkins Calls Out Lakers' Austin Reaves Before Game 2

James, a 41-year-old All-Star playing in his 23rd NBA season, recorded a game-high 27 points in the Lakers’ Game 1 loss to OKC. Rui Hachimura was the next leading scorer with 18, and Austin Reaves recorded just eight points on a difficult shooting night.

Doncic seemed to reply to critics like Flair when speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

“It’s very frustrating. I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is,” Doncic said of not being able to play. “All I want to do is play basketball, especially this time [of year]. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating.”

“Seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them,” he continued. “But it’s been very tough just to sit and watch them play.”

Game 2 will tipoff at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 5:32 PM.