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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 30: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a free throw against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that will not feature four of the team’s five typical starters. Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Marcus Smart were all ruled out for the Lakers vs. Thunder game, all dealing with injuries of vastly different severity.
Regardless, the ‘Lake Show’ must go on, despite not having three of the team’s top four scorers and a majority of their typical starting lineup.
Before the rematch against the Thunder, Los Angeles announced its starting lineup and final injury report for the game, coming amid recent injury updates for Doncic, Reaves, James, and Smart.
Lakers Starting Lineup Decision vs. Thunder Without Doncic, Reaves, James, and Smart
GettyLOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 9, 2026: Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) stands alone on the court during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on February 79 2026 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In a post on social media in the lead-up to the game, the Lakers revealed their starting lineup for Tuesday night.
Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura, Drew Timme, and Deandre Ayton were all named as starters by JJ Redick and the coaching staff.
That starting group could easily be considered a skeleton crew for the Lakers, as they are currently missing 80% of the typical starting lineup. Ayton is the only player who is consistently a starter who will actually play against Oklahoma City.
However, Kennard is coming off a triple-double, the first of his NBA career, so the Lakers will be hopeful that he can put in another good performance, regardless of their chances against the defending champions.
It is only Timme’s second career start, and his first time in the starting lineup for the Lakers, playing just 23 games on the year.
Lakers Injury Report, LeBron James Update
The Lakers’ injury report consists of Doncic, Reaves, Smart, James, and Jaxson Hayes.
The first three were always set to miss the game against the Thunder, but after being previously questionable, James was later ruled out.
It’s officially left foot injury management for the 41-year-old, as he’s been dealing with the foot injury for much of the season. Additionally, Los Angeles was blown out against the Thunder in the game that saw both Doncic and Reaves get hurt, so having James sit is likely a precaution that might not impact the final score on Tuesday night.
LeBron James is out tonight against the Thunder with left foot soreness, the Lakers announced. Tonight is the start of three games in four nights for LAL, followed by GSW on the road Thursday and home against PHX on Friday.
“LeBron James is out tonight against the Thunder with left foot soreness, the Lakers announced. Tonight is the start of three games in four nights for LAL, followed by GSW on the road Thursday and home against PHX on Friday,” team insider Dave McMenamin wrote on X.
As for Smart, there was initially hope that he would come back soon, but is now sidelined for the eighth game in a row. As McMenamin reported, Redick said Smart is ‘Trending towards playing at some point this week,’ but added that he though the guard would have returned sometime sooner.
The injuries to both Doncic and Reaves have been heavily reported on.
The Slovenian is in Spain for the time being getting additional recovery on a hamstring strain, while Reaves is expected to miss four to six weeks. Hayes was a late addition to the injury report, dealing with left foot soreness.
Redick has maintained that the Lakers want to extent their season in order to get the stars back, but in the West playoffs, that remains a tough task.
On Saturday, after Luka Doncic’s diagnosis, but before the extent of Austin Reaves’ oblique injury was known, JJ Redick said that the Lakers’ focus was to finish as the No. 3 seed. Tonight, after Reaves’ Grade 2 status and the Dallas loss, Redick said “seeding is out the window.”
The Lakers are currently 50-28 and fourth in the West, and can finish anywhere from third to fifth in the playoff seeding.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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