Lakers Announce Starting Five Decision Ahead of NBA Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 10:58 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers face the Kings in the final preseason game before opening the season against the Warriors.
Coach JJ Redick announces Friday's starters will also start on opening night.
Three-guard lineup, with Vincent replacing injured LeBron James for the start of the season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in action for one final preseason game on Friday night. They face off against the Sacramento Kings in a home game at Crypto.com Arena just four days before they start the new season with a matchup against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

While Friday’s matchup is nothing more than a tune-up contest for the upcoming 82-game campaign, head coach JJ Redick made an important lineup announcement ahead of tipoff — one that could have significant implications not only for opening night against the Warriors, but potentially, for the first part of the season as well for the Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick during a press conference.© Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Lakers enter Friday’s matchup with a 1-4 record following a 121-94 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. While it’s true that preseason games have no bearing on the regular season, there’s also no denying that the Lakers would like to restore some pride after Wednesday’s lopsided defeat.

Redick spoke to reporters before the game to share an important update on his rotation for the new season. This comes amid LeBron James’ sciatica injury, which is expected to keep the NBA’s all-time leading scorer sidelined until mid-December.

According to Redick, the starting lineup on Friday will be the same starting five that will face the Warriors on opening night (h/t ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin).

While Redick did not immediately reveal who his starters would be against the Kings, the Lakers announced them right before tipoff.

First five on a Friday @ToyotaSoCal | #SuitingUpTogether pic.twitter.com/lGMhbwOzuy
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2025

Redick has opted for a three-guard lineup that features Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic and Gabe Vincent. The frontcourt duties will be handled by Rui Hachimura and offseason recruit Deandre Ayton.

The addition of Vincent to the starting lineup is the noteworthy decision here. He effectively comes in to take James’ starting spot, with Redick opting to bring in another guard as opposed to a frontcourt player such as Jarred Vanderbilt.

While there is no certainty that this will be the Lakers’ starting five for the first part of the season, this decision sheds some light on Redick's mindset in terms of his rotation — at least early on.

The Lakers season-opener against the Warriors will tip off on Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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