The Los Angeles Lakers have been without star forward LeBron James since March 8 while he recovers from a groin injury suffered in a 111-101 defeat to the Boston Celtics.
To add insult to injury, they were also without star point guard Luka Doncic, who leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-pointers and plus-minus since his Lakers debut on Feb. 10, for Thursday's 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
With both of its star players out of commission, Los Angeles turned to rookie duo Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, the No. 17 and No. 55 overall picks, respectively, in the 2024 NBA draft to provide the offense.
Knecht notched 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes, while Bronny logged a career-high 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and a block in 30 minutes, though the rest of the team struggled to provide support.
And while Thursday's loss snapped a three-game win streak and left a bad taste in the Lakers' mouths, they got a bit of good news on Saturday ahead of their showdown with the Chicago Bulls as the team announced Doncic is expected to play.
"Luka Dončić (right ankle sprain), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury management), Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Austin Reaves (right ankle sprain), Jarred Vanderbilt (right groin strain) and Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management) have been upgraded to AVAILABLE for tonight's game vs. Chicago," Lakers Nation's Ryan Ward wrote.
Luka Dončić (right ankle sprain), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury management), Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Austin Reaves (right ankle sprain), Jarred Vanderbilt (right groin strain) and Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management) have been upgraded to…
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) March 23, 2025
Doncic, Reaves, Vanderbilt, and Finney-Smith were all listed as day-to-day after Thursday's loss. James and Maxi Kleber are the only players on L.A.'s roster officially listed as out.
In 16 games with the Lakers, Doncic is averaging 26.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while playing 34.3 minutes per night. He trails only James and Reaves in playing time.
Related: LeBron James Turns Heads With Behavior During Luka Doncic's Performance vs. Nuggets
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This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 8:14 PM.