Lakers to Be Without 4 Players For Suns Preseason Game

Dec 18, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at center court at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without four players for their preseason game on Friday against the Phoenix Suns.

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Lakers head coach JJ Redick says LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero will not suit up.

JJ Redick said LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero will all miss tomorrow’s preseason opener vs. PHX. Redick said the team is still determining if anyone will be out tomorrow.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 2, 2025

The Lakers will play in their first preseason game tomorrow, but will be without four of their key players.

James has been limited for the Lakers at the start of training camp as he deals with a glute injury. The 40-year-old superstar is dealing with nerve irritation in his glute. The possibility of him missing all six preseason games is likely.

With James out, the Lakers will turn to the newest forward, Jake LaRavia, who has already impressed in the first two days of training camp.

Redick said that LaRavia will be a common fixture in the lineup alongside Smart, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent when it comes to the guard position. On day two of training camp, LaRavia was spotted playing alongside the suspected starters as they are set to begin the preseason without James.

As for Smart, he is dealing with an Achilles injury. While that is the case, the expectation is that he will be healthy sometime next week, possibly after this weekend's slate of games. In the meantime, Dalton Knechta nd Vincent are set to fill in his place for what could be the first two games.

Kleber will miss the preseason game and sat out on day three of training camp with what the Lakers called a minor quad injury. He will be out for a few days as the Lakers are being cautious with him as the season approaches.

Lastly, Thiero. The Lakers' rookie forward is dealing with a knee issue, the same one that kept him out of Summer League in July. His status for the preseason is uncertain.

The former Razorback has less than 20 days for the start of the season to ramp up his work if he wants to be ready for the start of the season.

The Lakers are not in an ideal situation with these injuries. However, by the looks of it, none of these injuries appears to be serious. Nonetheless, it's not a good sign that neither of them is practicing.

LA will take on its division rivals in Palm Springs for what is considered a home game for the purple and gold. Tip-off is set at 7 p.m. PT at Acrisure Arena.

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