Feb. 16, 2026, 9:00 a.m. PT
With the 2026 NBA All-Star Game now in the past tense, the Los Angeles Lakers can start to prepare for a late-season push that they hope will result in a successful postseason. With a 33-21 record, they currently hold fifth place in the Western Conference, and while they’re in a virtual tie with the sixth-place Minnesota Timberwolves, they’re only 1.5 games behind the third-place Denver Nuggets.
They will end the long All-Star break when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. They have been hit by one key injury after another this season, but they could be at or near full strength on Friday. Austin Reaves is back from the gastrocnemius strain that kept him out for several weeks, and Luka Doncic could be ready to return from a hamstring strain that caused him to miss the Lakers’ last four games.
Doncic told Chris Haynes that he thinks the Lakers can win the NBA championship this season.
“Obviously, we’re trying to win the championship. I think we can do it. We have the team for it but obviously we had a lot of injuries. Me, Bron (LeBron James), and AR, everybody has been out some time. So now coming back from All-Star, I think everybody’s healthy. That’ll be a good test for us.”
Los Angeles will have some difficult games coming up. The Clippers have won 20 of their last 27 games, and on Sunday, Feb. 22, L.A. will host the Boston Celtics, who have won six of their last seven games and have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
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But the schedule will also help the Lakers, as 10 of their next 13 games will be at home. In fact, they will not travel east of the Mountain time zone until March 16, when they visit the Houston Rockets.
If they’re going to make a statement that they truly have a shot at the NBA’s grand prize, as Doncic asserted, now is the time for them to start doing so.