Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves has been excellent for the Lakers as they've dealt with a slew of injury issues over the last few games.
LeBron James has missed each of the Lakers' last six games since suffering a groin injury against the Boston Celtics on March 8. Luka Doncic has also missed a couple games over this stretch as he deals with calf and ankle injuries.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the injury bug has now found its way to Reaves.
After recording 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds in a 120-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, Reaves has been ruled out for Thursday night's matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Lakers officially ruled Reaves (right ankle) out on Thursday afternoon. Doncic (ankle) was also ruled out. Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle) and Jared Vanderbilt (right groin) were listed as doubtful.
Austin Reaves (right ankle) is out and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right groin) are also doubtful, the team announced. https://t.co/jA4djt5zc0
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 20, 2025
Reaves is averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in his fourth NBA season with the Lakers. Over the last five games, the former undrafted player is averaging 29.0 points per game.
Reaves and Doncic have been a stellar duo in the absence of James over the last few games.
"It's awesome. [Doncic] continues to play the game the right way and to be honest I wanted him to keep firing him up because they were calling him at a higher rate," Reaves said after Wednesday night's win over the Nuggets. "Like I said, he plays the game the right way. If you blitz him, he's not trying to race the big. He's throwing it to the open guy and letting us play 4-on-3, so it makes it pretty easy when you play the game the right way."
The Lakers hold the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 43-25 record. JJ Redick's short-staffed squad will tipoff against the Bucks at 10:30 p.m. EST on Thursday.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 1:36 PM.