Kendrick Perkins did not hesitate when Luka Doncic’s latest playoff injury came up. The former NBA champion said the Los Angeles Lakers star is drifting into the same conversation as Joel Embiid — brilliant enough to dominate a season, but increasingly unreliable when the postseason turns unforgiving. That is what made the timing so brutal. Doncic had just delivered one of the finest offensive years of his career, averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds while powering the Lakers through a 14-2 March stretch alongside LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Now, one of the most decorated voices of the last two decades is saying plainly that the absence is not just bad luck. It is becoming a pattern.

Luka Doncic confirmed this week that he never came close to clearing medically during the playoffs. “I know some people wanted me to come back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing,” he said. “If I could be out there, I would be, 100%.” The acknowledgment was honest, and for Kendrick Perkins, it only reinforced what he has been watching develop for three consecutive postseasons. Appearing on First Take, the former Celtics champion delivered a verdict that Laker Nation will be arguing about all summer. “When it comes to being reliable,” Perkins said, “Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most, and it comes postseason time, he’s not available.”

Perkins’ argument was methodical. He credited everything: “Luka Doncic, one of the best scorers this game has ever seen. We’re not going to take that away from him.” Then came the pivot. “But over the last three years, it’s been something come postseason time, whether it’s been out of shape or him dealing with some type of injuries, and most majority of the time, it comes to soft tissue injuries.”

The record supports the concern. Doncic dealt with a left calf strain that sidelined him for a month in late 2024, and the Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered on April 2, which follow-up evaluation in Spain revealed was closer to a near-Grade 3 tear, represents the third consecutive postseason in which his availability became the defining storyline around the Los Angeles Lakers. “If he is available, he’s never close to 70%,” Perkins said, “because he’s always dealing with injuries.”

The contrast Kendrick Perkins drew was blunt and personal. “We don’t have those worries with a senior citizen in LeBron James,” he said. “He’s available. What happened this postseason? It was LeBron James’ team.

Once again, he was the one leading the charge at 41 years old. Luka wasn’t available because of another soft tissue injury. So now it comes down to trust. Can you trust that Luka is going to be there when it matters the most? And over the last three years, the answer to that is hell no.”

The Embiid comparison was not rhetorical kindness; it was the most damaging analogy available, invoking a player whose regular-season dominance has become almost impossible to evaluate because it routinely disappears in the postseason.

The Man Perkins Wants the Lakers to Prioritize Over Doncic

Perkins made clear that the criticism of Luka was not the end of the argument; it was the setup for what he believes the Lakers should do next. “You best to believe that LeBron James is going to be available,” he said. “You best to believe that LeBron James is going to be healthy. You definitely want to try to do right by LeBron James and say, you know what? We need you. You better do right by LeBron.”

LeBron James is contemplating his future after his 23rd NBA season, with his contract situation unresolved and multiple franchises, including Cleveland and Golden State, reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions to bring him in.

Doncic, for his part, signed a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers last summer and was emphatic about his commitment: “I like living here. I like playing for the Lakers. It’s one of the best organizations in the world.” He is not going anywhere.

That reality is what makes Perkins’ argument so pointed for the front office. It is not a trade call or a roster reshaping conversation; it is a question of organizational philosophy. Alonzo Mourning has been working directly with Doncic’s medical team to manage the hamstring recovery, and doctors are projecting a full offseason recovery with no structural concern about his long-term health.

The body of work across three postseasons, however, has now generated a legitimate debate that Kendrick Perkins put on national television in unmistakable terms: one of the Lakers’ two best players showed up when the games mattered most, and the other one didn’t. The franchise has to decide what it does with that.