A frightening moment in Cleveland has reignited concerns about player safety after Luka Doncic narrowly avoided what could have been a serious injury.
Early in the first quarter of the Lakers’ loss to the Cavaliers, Doncic stepped back to launch a three-pointer, then hopped backward into the small gap between the raised court and the arena floor at Rocket Arena, the only NBA arena with this design.
The misstep sent him crashing to the ground, prompting immediate concern from both benches.
Doncic briefly headed to the locker room before returning to finish the game, but the scare lingered well beyond the final buzzer. Afterward, the Lakers star admitted the fall shook him, and he knew just how close he came to disaster.
“I kind of got scared,” Doncic said after the game via Dan Woike of The Athletic. “It wasn’t a great feeling, and, looking back at the video, I think I got a little bit lucky.”
“WHO THE F*** MADE THIS FLOOR, GOD DAMN IT?!”
Luka Doncic after hurting his ankle on the Cavs raised court 😳
(via @PostDaws) pic.twitter.com/dxGI7zoZd9
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) January 29, 2026
Despite the incident, Doncic still poured in 29 points to go with five rebounds and six assists, though it wasn’t enough to keep Los Angeles competitive in a 129–99 loss.
The result, however, felt secondary to the larger issue raised by the fall.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back when asked about the court design, calling it a long-standing problem that the league has yet to address.
“It is absolutely a safety hazard,” Redick said after the game. “And I don’t know why it’s still like that. I don’t. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times you don’t see any change when you lodge a formal complaint.”
Redick’s frustration echoed what many around the league have quietly felt for years. With every other NBA arena featuring a flush court-to-floor layout, players are simply not accustomed to navigating a raised surface in live action, especially during fast-paced sequences like Doncic’s step-back.
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