The Los Angeles Lakers felt Luka Doncic’s absence last night, falling 126-105 to the Boston Celtics. The team listed his absence as personal, sparking plenty of speculation. It was his second straight missed game, an unexpected pause, albeit for the right reason, after a stellar start to the 2025-26 season. Now, though, the Lakers finally have encouraging news about his return.

“Luka Doncic is on his way to Los Angeles after the birth of his second daughter, where his Los Angeles Lakers team is eagerly awaiting his return to the court and help them win new victories. Our photographer caught the 26-year-old’s SUV at Brnik Airport, and the basketball player left the airport on a private plane,” a Slovenian media outlet 24ur reported. 

Luka flew to support his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, for the birth of their second daughter, whom the Lakers star introduced to the world only recently. However, now, after celebrating the birth of his second child with his family and friends in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Doncic is headed back to the States for the upcoming games.

This leaked picture is great news for the Purple & Gold, who were 1-1 without Luka Doncic. By the looks of things, it’s safe to say that the perennial All-Star will suit up for the Lakers’ away clash with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. And if not, he’ll most certainly be available for their highly anticipated NBA Cup quarter-finals battle with the San Antonio Spurs.

Doncic has been the team’s standout player this season and has been performing at an MVP level. So far, he’s averaging 35.3 points along with 8.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. So, having him back will surely be a huge boost for Los Angeles, especially with LeBron James dealing with injuries.

The 26-year-old dedicated his offseason to getting into shape and honing his skills. At the same time, he also spent some quality time with his fiancée and his two-year-old daughter Gabriela. Now, he’s a proud dad of two daughters as he makes a much-awaited comeback to the league, but not before sharing the first glimpse of Olivia with his millions of fans on social media.

Luka Doncic announces the birth of his second daughter to his fans

As Luka Doncic returns to the States, he has decided to officially announce the birth of his lovely daughter, Olivia, by posting an adorable first photo of her on his Instagram account. “Olivia 💕!” the Lakers star captioned the picture. In fact, he also changed his bio, adding the names of both of his daughters as a lovely gesture. 

However, it’s unclear whether the point guard was the only one who decided to head back to California, or if he is bringing his fiancée and kids along with him. That’s because just a few days back, the Los Angeles Lakers star celebrated the birthday of his first daughter with a heartbreaking message as she was in Slovenia with Anamaria, while Doncic was with the Lakers.

“Happy birthday, my little princess!” Doncic wrote. “You bring the most joy to my life! I love you, I miss you so much, and I can’t wait to see you soon 💕💕❤️❤️.”

This distance comes as a result of Goltes’ profession. Luka Doncic’s fiancée is a model and an influencer, which might be a reason why she stays back in Slovenia. Also, another factor in this could be the fact that most of the 26-year-old’s family also stays in his hometown. In fact, both Goltes and Doncic met for the first time back in 2016 in Europe.

This ultimately led them to get engaged in Slovenia on July 7th, 2023. Now, fast forward to 2025, Anamaria and Luka are proud parents of two daughters. Nonetheless, only being able to spend a few days with his family, Luka Doncic will have to shift his focus back to the NBA, where the Lakers need him for the upcoming stretch of crucial games starting this Monday.