LSU Basketball Reveals $2 Million Guard Will Miss Remainder of Season in Massive Loss

BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball Head Coach Matt McMahon announced on Saturday that LSU point guard DJ Thomas Jr., will have left foot surgery next week, ending his 2025-26 basketball season.

The star point guard, who played at UNLV for two years before transferring to LSU where he delivered dynamic play both passing and scoring, has been dealing with the injury since the day before the start of Southeastern Conference play.

“Since arriving on campus and earning his captain’s role, DJ has been a great teammate and a relentless competitor,” said Coach McMahon. “He makes everyone in our program better. I admire the toughness and fight DJ has shown since suffering his foot injury. He has done everything in his power to work through the pain and get back on the court. I’m disappointed for DJ that his season has come to an end. We look forward to supporting him through his recovery.”

Thomas missed the first five SEC games, then returned for three contests, including a team leading 18-point effort in a four-point loss at Arkansas. He reaggravated the injury early in the Mississippi State game on Jan. 28, the last game he was able to participate in.

Thomas, who led the SEC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio until he fell off the rankings because of the 75 percent participation rule, averaged 15.3 points in 16 games, 2.7 rebounds and had 104 assists (6.50 apg) and just 26 turnovers (4.00 assist-to-turnover ratio).

Thomas is the second prominent LSU Tiger to undergo season-ending surgery - joining star forward Jalen Reed after suffering a torn Achilles in December.

An Update on the Status of PG Dedan Thomas Jr.

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— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 14, 2026

“Jalen Reed suffered a season-ending (left) Achilles tendon injury during last Friday night’s game versus Drake," McMahon said in a statement.

"He underwent successful surgery this morning in Baton Rouge. We are absolutely heartbroken and devastated for Jalen. His journey back to the court has been inspiring to everyone in our program.

“Jalen is a team captain and leader as well as a soon to be LSU Graduate. He represents everything that is great about college athletics. While I cannot convey the depth of my disappointment for Jalen, I remain in admiration of his spirit and mental toughness. We look forward to supporting him in his recovery and cannot wait to see him back on the basketball court.”

Reed had played an average of 18 minutes in the first six games of the season averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. He was 20-of-35 from the field (57.1 percent).

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