Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Lakers Star Reportedly Recovering From 'Serious' Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 15, 2025 6:03 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs in five games despite having superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic and home-court advantage.

The Timberwolves, who beat the Golden State Warriors in the second round to advance to the conference finals for the second year in a row, won Games 1, 3, 4 and 5 versus the Lakers.

To make matters worse, James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Game 5 at home. The leading scorer in NBA history is using the summer to recover from the ailment.

The 40-year-old James isn't the only Lakers starter dealing with an injury. According to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, Austin Reaves is still recovering from a serious toe injury.

"Yet according to people with knowledge of the situation, Reaves is still recovering from a serious toe sprain (though it’s improving and not expected to require surgery). And it’s not like the big moments have always brought out the worst of him as he helped build his reputation in the organization with the way he played in the Lakers’ biggest games," Woike wrote.

Reaves played well for the Lakers in the regular season. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 73 games while shooting 46.0% from the field, 37.7% from 3 and 87.7% from the foul line.

However, Reaves' numbers went down in the Timberwolves series. The undrafted shooting guard averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 41.1% overall, 31.9% from 3 and 85.7% from the foul line.

Neither James nor Reaves will need surgery this summer. Reaves is under contract for next season, while James has a player option to return to the Lakers.

Reaves has spent his entire career in Los Angeles. He has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

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

More must-reads: