![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2248467415-e1776533912111.jpg\")
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Austin Reaves’ injury may prompt the Lakers star to miss the Rockets playoff series. <\/p>\n
Austin Reaves<\/a>\u2018 injury has put the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star\u2019s status in doubt for the team\u2019s first round NBA playoff series against the Houston Rockets<\/a>. Reaves is recovering from an oblique injury which could sideline the guard for the entire first round and potentially beyond depending on his recovery timeline.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin<\/a> reported that the Lakers are preparing to be without Reaves for the entire first round. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd as they prepare for it, sources told ESPN they have no expectation of having either Doncic or Reaves back at any point in the first round,\u201d McMenamin wrote in an April 16, 2026, story titled, \u201cLuka, Reaves and the 48 hours that changed the Lakers\u2019 season.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cBut they also have not completely ruled out the possibility of one or both of them becoming available the longer the series lasts.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about Reaves\u2019 injury and the latest Lakers news. <\/p>\n When Will Austin Reaves Play Again for the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs?<\/p>\n Reaves last played<\/a> on April 2, and the Lakers have not announced a return timeline for the guard. The star will miss the start of the Lakers-Rockets series and potentially be sidelined even longer if the team is able to advance. <\/p>\n Reaves has been in Los Angeles \u201cundergoing a variety of treatments,\u201d per The Athletic\u2019s Dan Wolke and Sam Amick. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRedick said Reaves and Don\u010di\u0107 are both out \u2018indefinitely,’\u201d Wolke and Amick wrote in an April 17, story titled, \u201cLeBron James\u2019 future: Retire, stay with Lakers or join Warriors\/Cavs? What we know.\u201d \u201cDon\u010di\u0107 is due back in Los Angeles late Friday after receiving his final treatment in Madrid for his Grade 2 hamstring strain. <\/p>\n \u201cReaves has been with the team in Los Angeles and been undergoing a variety of treatments in both the Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers facilities, per a team source.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin Reaves\u2019 Injury Return Timeline Described as \u2018Out Indefinitely\u2019 by Lakers<\/p>\n The timing of Reaves\u2019 injury is unfortunate with Lakers star Luka Doncic<\/a> also sidelined. This leaves the majority of the playoff load to be carried by LeBron James<\/a> for potentially the entire Rockets-Lakers series. <\/p>\n Heading into the NBA<\/a> playoffs, Lakers head coach JJ Redick<\/a> offered little in the way of updates. Redick described Doncic and Reaves\u2019 status as \u201cout indefinitely.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re out indefinitely,\u201d Redick told reporters on April 14, per NBA.com.<\/a> \u201cI\u2019m not going to have an update for you this week.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin Reaves Expected To Be an NBA Free Agent, Putting His Lakers\u2019 Future in Doubt<\/p>\n Beyond the NBA playoffs, Reaves\u2019 future with the Lakers remains in doubt. Reaves can decline the final season of his current contract with Los Angeles and become a free agent this summer. <\/p>\n Ahead of the Rockets-Lakers series, Amick and Wolke <\/a> reported that Reaves is expected to become a free agent. <\/p>\n \u201cReaves, who according to league sources intends to decline the final year of his contract with the Lakers and become an unrestricted free agent, is expected to have top-of-market interest from multiple teams, both those with cap space and those that would need to create it to sign him,\u201d Amick and Wolke detailed.<\/p>\n \u201cReaves said that he hopes to remain with the Lakers and has strong advocates in Don\u010di\u0107 and James. Don\u010di\u0107, according to a league source, has enjoyed his time with James as a teammate.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJonathan Adams<\/a> is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Austin Reaves’ injury may prompt the Lakers star to miss the Rockets playoff series. Austin Reaves\u2018 injury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-713523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-lakers","11":"tag-lakers","12":"tag-lalakers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleslakers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116428246902082696","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}