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After sitting out the first two exhibition contests, Austin Reaves will make his preseason debut against the Kings on Thursday.
Head coach JJ Redick announced pregame that Reaves would return to the court, his first appearance since signing his big deal to return to the Lakers this summer.
However, Reaves is not going to be joined by his teammates who also missed the first two games. Walker Kessler remains out after jamming a finger during practice while Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma are also sidelined.
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Joining them for Thursday’s game are Ziaire Williams, Cameron Carr and Dalton Knecht. Williams had some soreness, as Redick described, while Carr and Knecht took hits leading to contusions.
Reddick has remained steadfast that these injuries are not long-term concerns. After a flurry of games this week, the Lakers will be off until Tuesday before wrapping up the preseason with a game next Friday.
With over another week of games remaining — and additional practice coming after that — there isn’t any real reason to worry about any of the players who have yet to make an appearance. In fact, Redick said pregame that Kessler would play in preseason games.
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Notably not mentioned during any of those injury updates is Luka Dončić, which means not only is Reaves playing on Thursday, but fans will get to see the superstar pair on the court together for the first time this season.
While this happened plenty of times last season, something about this being a new era of Lakers basketball makes it feel like a bigger deal to see them on the floor together, ushering the Lakers forward.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/austin-reaves-preseason-debut-against-014621233.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-09 01:46:00
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