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Austin Reaves reacts during a Los Angeles Lakers game as the team faces a major offseason decision surrounding his free agency.
Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers was upgraded to questionable for Game 3 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, and barring any setbacks, he will make his return from the oblique strain on Friday night.
Reaves’ injury status heading into Game 3 was upgraded for the first time since he went out with the oblique strain in early April, and now, all signs point to him making his 2026 playoff debut for the Lakers.
Based on all the latest updates, Reaves has progressed through his full recovery and is now in line to return for Los Angeles on Friday night, assuming nothing goes wrong or no setbacks occur in the lead-up to the key matchup.
Lakers Get New Austin Reaves Injury Return Update
GettyDALLAS, TEXAS – JANUARY 07: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach JJ Redick talk during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on January 07, 2025 in Dallas, Texas.
Speaking on NBA Today, Shams Charania confirmed what many thought about Reaves’ status for Game 3 after he was upgraded to questionable.
“He’s getting closer to coming back from a grade 2 oblique injury,” he said. “My understanding is that Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight, if not Game 3 then Game 4.”
Shams Charania says Austin Reaves will attempt to return to the court for either Game 3 or Game 4 of Lakers-Rockets 👀
“Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight, if not Game 3 then Game 4.”
Charania added that once Reaves returned to on-court work last week, he has not suffered any injury setbacks, which led to him being listed as questionable in the lead-up to Game 3 for the Lakers.
Charania’s comments come after ESPN insiders speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast offered a similar update on Reaves.
“Austin Reaves is gonna play Friday, barring some (pregame) setback,” Tim Bontemps said.
“Once they’re upgraded to questionable and they’ve been ramping up, it’s pretty rare to see a guy not be able to go, unless there’s some sort of road block right at the end,” Tim McMahon added.
Assuming Reaves would return in Game 3 for the Lakers, he would have progressed more quickly than his initial four-to-six-week expected absence. For now, though, an official Reaves injury return has yet to be announced by the team.
Reaves Is Eyeing A Game 3 Return For The Lakers, But What About A Luka Doncic Injury Update?
Heading into Game 3, Luka Doncic remains sidelined for the Lakers with a grade 2 hamstring strain, which he suffered in the same game when Reaves got hurt.
Based on the latest updates, Doncic is not expected to return in the Lakers-Rockets first-round series. The star has been seen doing light on-court work, but according to both Charania and head coach JJ Redick, he is officially without a return timeline.
“The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series. He is out indefinitely,” Charania said a few days ago.
The latest on the rehabs of Lakers star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for NBA Today:
However, while the Lakers might need to wait for a Doncic injury return, the idea of him coming back if Los Angeles advances to the second round of the playoffs feels a lot more likely.
“Yeah, Luka, I think is still probably more on a next round (addition),” McMahon said when speaking about the two Lakers’ stars dealing with injuries.
Before the playoffs began, Redick had hope that Los Angeles could extend their series against the Rockets to potentially get Doncic or Reaves back. Now, that notion has completely shifted, and with the Lakers on the verge of taking a 3-0 series lead, the idea of seeing the return of both at some point in the postseason feels a lot more likely.
JJ Redick on the Lakers’ mindset with Reaves/Dončić “The mindset for our team and for those two guys, like we’re gonna try to make this season as long as possible so that we can get those guys back at some point. We don’t know what that is, and that’s just our job. And their job
Lakers vs Rockets Game 3 tips off on Friday, April 24, at 7:30 pm PST, and could see Reaves playing for the first time in these playoffs.
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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