The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly looking at the New York Knicks‘ Mitchell Robinson as they search for frontcourt help around Luka Doncic, but the Knicks center’s latest injury may complicate any possible pursuit. Robinson is playing through a broken right hand during the NBA Finals at the same time as he approaches free agency this summer.
Robinson remains one of the NBA’s most dominant offensive rebounders and rim protectors when healthy, making him an intriguing target for Los Angeles despite durability concerns that have followed him throughout much of his career.
“Robinson is a rebounding machine on both ends of the floor, a reliable rim protector and a strong finisher who remains a vertical threat near the basket,” wrote NBA reporter Khobi Price of The California Post on Thursday. Robinson also has “more experience with a higher workload” than Portland Trail Blazers center Rob Williams, another big man on the Lakers’ radar, according to Price.
Lakers’ Mitchell Robinson Free Agency Interest
Fansided‘s Maxwell Ogden described Robinson as possessing “elite defensive range, unrivaled offensive rebounding proficiency, and the perfect skill set to thrive as the lob threat Luka Doncic needs.” The 7-foot, 240-pound center from Pensacola, Florida, was the Knicks’ second-round pick in 2018 and has spent all eight seasons of his NBA career in New York.
Robinson finished the 2025-26 regular season averaging 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 points and a 72.3 field goal percentage in 60 games — all in just 19.6 minutes per night. The Lakers, who finished 53-29 before falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs, are looking to build their frontcourt around Doncic this offseason. General Manager Rob Pelinka is expected to be aggressive on the free agent market.
Comparisons to Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, who filled the same lob-threat role alongside Doncic in Dallas during the Mavericks‘ Finals run two seasons ago, have surfaced in the offseason conversation. Robinson’s contract with New York expires this summer, though the Knicks are expected to try to re-sign him to what will likely be a two-year deal.
Robinson’s Broken Hand Casts Long Shadow
Robinson entered Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio with a broken fifth metacarpal in his right shooting hand. He played 13 minutes, grabbed six rebounds and scored two points in the New York Knicks’ 105-95 victory, wearing a brace throughout.
“It wasn’t his pinky. It was his fifth metacarpal. It’s a broken hand,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up, as quoted by Basketnews.com. “When you break this part of your hand, it’s known as a boxer’s fracture because most of the time it means you hit something.” Robinson had already undergone surgery before Game 1 and pushed through regardless.
For the Lakers, the hand injury is the latest data point in an already complicated durability picture. Robinson appeared in just 17 games in 2024-25 and 31 in 2023-24. New York managed him carefully this past season, keeping him out of back-to-backs and holding his workload under 20 minutes per night. Los Angeles would almost certainly ask more — starting minutes against top frontcourts in a Western Conference that includes Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, the Knicks’ opponents in the current NBA Finals.
His free throw shooting — 40.8% during the regular season — gives opposing coaches a late-game weapon to exploit. But his shot-blocking, rebounding and rim-running efficiency at 72.3% from the field this season are the kind of numbers that keep the 28-year-old Robinson on short lists.
Lakers Eye Knicks Rebounding Machine Mitchell Robinson Despite Bad Hand: Report