The Los Angeles Lakers received some bad news about the timeline of Austin Reaves' expected return to the court from injury.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James celebrated his 41st birthday on Tuesday ahead of their clash with the Detroit Pistons, and his big man teammate DeAndre Ayton reflected on James' longevity and the secret to his success.

The Lakers are in a free fall. They’ve lost three straight by 15+ points, and after the Rockets blew them out 119-96 on Christmas Day, the calls for change have grown louder, even by their own head coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers just got star guard Austin Reaves back from a three-game injury absence on Tuesday, in a 132-108 defeat against the Phoenix Suns. The 6-f

Coach JJ Redick said he calmly delivered a message to his players that it was time for "reconnection" with the team's second-leading scorer sideline at least a month.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Laravia is scoring 8.7 points per game and averaging 4.1 rebounds for the Lakers. Luka Doncic is averaging 34.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last 10 games. Ausar Thompson is shooting 51.2% and averaging 11.7 points for the Pistons. Cade Cunningham is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Get the best Kings vs. Lakers predictions ahead of Sunday's Western Conference clash at Crypto.com Arena. Free NBA picks for December 28.

The Los Angeles Lakers face the LA Clippers in a regular season NBA game on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 (12/20/25) at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Lakers guard Nick Smith Jr. did really well in filling the void left by Austin Reaves in Sunday's 125-101 win over the Kings.

Austin Reaves was diagnosed with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain on Friday, according to multiple reports. He is expected to miss at least four weeks with the calf injury and will be reevaluated after that point.