The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with numerous injuries to start the 2025-26 NBA season, primarily affecting two of their key players, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
James, in his record-breaking 23rd season and currently in a battle with Father Time, missed the team’s last game against the San Antonio Spurs due to a foot injury and lingering sciatica. However, the latest update on the league’s all-time leading scorer is good news for the Lakers.
According to the team and ESPN insider Dave McMenamin, James is listed as probable for their upcoming game against the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the update was joined by the news that forward Rui Hachimura will miss the contest, as he’s dealing with a calf strain.
“Per the Lakers: LeBron James has been upgraded to probable for tonight, Rui Hachimura has been downgraded to out,” McMenamin wrote in a post on X.
On the season, James is averaging 21.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 51.2% shooting in 18 games. He missed the first month of the season with sciatica, and his numbers saw a massive drop as he finally began to show signs of aging while taking a backseat to new franchise star Luka Doncic.
Lakers Injury Report, LeBron James Injury Update
While he hasn’t been the same player in years past and is showing even more signs of slowing down on the defensive end of the floor, the Lakers getting back James for their contest against the Bucks is good news, considering their recent slip.
Doncic remains top-notch, but with Reaves out for the past few weeks and set to miss more time, Los Angeles has lost five of their last nine and is now 16th in net rating after starting the season much higher.
But while James was previously questionable, he’s now probable and will provide at least some relief for head coach JJ Redick’s roster.
As mentioned, Reaves is out with a calf strain and isn’t expected to return until the end of January at the earliest, after suffering the injury on Christmas.
Hachimura is also listed as out with a calf injury and is expected to miss at least another game. He hasn’t played since December 28th, and while he was in the lineup, there were a lot of up and down performances, the Lakers could certainly use his length and shooting alongside Doncic.
Additionally, Los Angeles is without rookie Adou Thiero. The forward from Arkansas has only played in 15 games this season, and after going down with a right MCL sprain, is expected to miss at least three more weeks.
But while the Lakers deal with their numerous injuries, they continue to get bad luck in the trade market, according to all the latest reports.
Lakers Keep Getting Bad News On Trade Rumors
The Lakers have been linked to a ton of players over the past few months in trade rumors. While Giannis Antetokounmpo, everyone’s top target, does not appear to be on the market, even some of their lower-tier prospects don’t appear to be within reach.
Los Angeles has been linked to Trey Murphy and Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans heavily, as both could offer some much-needed 3-and-D abilities that the current roster is very much lacking.
However, with the recent report that the price tag for both appears too high for the Lakers, it was most recently reported by NBA insider Chris Haynes that New Orleans has no plans of trading either, along with a number of their other players.
Additionally, the team has been linked to Keon Ellis of the Sacramento Kings, a team that looks like it’ll be a major seller with less than a month before the trade deadline. But in a major roadblock, the New York Knicks appear interested, along with a few other teams that could use him in a bigger role than he’s currently in with the Kings.
Finally, even if the Lakers could have all of their top targets available, they don’t have a lot of flexibility as it relates to the assets they have and the moves they can make. In a recent article by Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, they wrote that the Lakers have a ton of restrictions based on their current draft assets and salary cap.
“Despite the team’s glaring flaws, particularly on defense, the Lakers have limited draft assets and are just a million dollars below their first-apron hard cap for the season, giving them little flexibility to make the improvements to the roster necessary to truly become a threat in the West,” the insiders wrote.
Lakers Get LeBron Injury Update Amid Bad News On Trade Rumors