Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves will miss the rest of the regular season and the beginning of the NBA playoffs after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique injury, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Lakers' Austin Reaves is expected to miss four to six weeks with the Grade 2 oblique injury, sources tell ESPN. Devastating run of injuries to L.A.'s two leading scorers. Reaves and Luka Doncic are expected to be sidelined to begin the NBA playoffs. https://t.co/E2495zVWqH
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— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 4, 2026
Saturday’s news worsens the Lakers’ injury woes as Luka Doncic was already ruled out indefinitely with a left hamstring strain.
As the Lakers’ second-highest leading scorer, Reaves will now miss the next 4-6 weeks as the regular season ends and the postseason begins.
In 51 games this season, he averaged a career-high 23.3 points per game to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Guard Marcus Smart is also recovering from groin and ankle injuries and remains day-to-day.
Before Saturday’s news broke, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said the team’s goal hasn’t changed.
“Our mission, it hasn’t changed,” Redick said. “The rest of these guys and my staff, we’re going after the 3-seed and we’re going to try to win a playoff series. And we’ll see what happens with Luka.”
With Reaves now sidelined for an extended period, the Lakers may need to rely on 41-year-old LeBron James as their first scoring option to begin the playoffs.
James Parker contributed to this story.
