Just after two minutes of action on the court, LA Clippers' veteran scorer, Bogdan Bogdanović, headed back to the locker room in Frontwave Arena, hinting that his back could be injured. Several minutes later, Bogdanović's status for the rest of the game worsened from questionable to out with lower back soreness.
Bogdanovic has low back soreness and will not return. https://t.co/r9ZmPOzO2e
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 10, 2025
Bogdanović was the temporary starter for Bradley Beal, who was out and is operating day to day. Beal could be available Sunday against the Denver Nuggets, but patience until the day of his next update will be required.
Moreover, the news of Bogdanović in the first game of the preseason is just unfortunate to hear, as he was supposed to give fans flashbacks of last season with a heat check that could not be put out against the Guangzhou Loong Lions.
Instead, Bogdanović is in a tougher situation than he was over the summer, when the collective decision was made by his agent, the Clippers' coaching staff, and Serbia's national team to have his EuroBasket run discontinued.
Bogdan Bogdanović appears to be in good spirits following his back injury
After wincing in pain, with something clearly wrong with his back, Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated posted to X(formerly Twitter) that Bogdan Bogdanović signaled to Lawrence Frank that everything is okay. This could very well be true, as he is the only one who knows, or Bogdanović could have said this to instill positivity after he hurt his hamstring during the EuroBasket.
In the devastating moments of his offseason injury, Bogdanović was expected to return miles after training camp and preseason. This was due to a common assumption: the injury had to be serious if he was forced to leave his teammates in Serbia behind.
Yet, over the following weeks, particularly around media day, Clippers fans put two and two together to realize that Bogdanović did not need anywhere close to the amount of recovery time anticipated. Thus, he passed the medical staff's tests and was ready to make an in-state trip to Oceanside, California, to play the Guangzhou Loong Lions.
Still, head coach Tyronn Lue should have ruled him out for this game and possibly started him against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, limiting his playing time to ten minutes maximum. Bogdanović was performing at high intensity for Serbia and could have benefited from a break during a preseason game with no impact on the regular season.
Nonetheless, it is reassuring to know that Bogdanović gave a thumbs up, indicating that all is well. The fact that the injury was recorded as soreness suggests strong hope that he will be back before opening night in 12 days.