Ric Flair Blasts Absent Luka Doncic, Urges Lakers to Trade Him

Pro wrestling legend Ric Flair criticized Luka Doncic's absence from the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

The Lakers lost to the Thunder 108-90 in Game 1 of their second-round series. Doncic sat out the first round of the playoffs with a hamstring injury. He also missed the last five regular-season games. Austin Reaves returned to the Lakers' lineup in the previous series and played 36 minutes against the Thunder, scoring eight points.

Flair posted on X that Doncic should return to action. "Luka, 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.

In a 2023 interview with Fox News Digital, Flair said he follows all sports, not just pro wrestling. He expressed disgust at NBA players who rest for load management.

"These basketball players that whine and b---h, it's taken a lot of the sport away from me," he said.

Flair compared NBA players to wrestlers, who perform despite injuries. "They go to work hurt," he said. "That’s what p----s me off today about these basketball players that stub their toe. No s---. How do you think I feel about that knowing I wrestled six months after I broke my back in a f---ing airplane crash? ‘I got a torn thumbnail. Whoa, whoa, whoa.’"