Lakers Get Unfortunate Injury Update Before Pelicans Game

On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers had a clean injury report, with not a single player dealing with any ailments after back-to-back blowout wins against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings over the weekend.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, that changed on Tuesday, with the team announcing that veteran forward Maxi Kleber is dealing with back soreness.

Maxi Kleber Downgraded to Questionable vs. Pelicans

Maxi Kleber (back soreness) has been downgraded to QUESTIONABLE for tonight’s game versus New Orleans.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) March 3, 2026

After Sunday’s blowout win against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked about how Kleber impacts the team, even though he hasn’t seen the floor that much during the 2025-26 NBA season.

“He's a terrific teammate,” Redick said of Kleber. “It's easy to root for his success and I think because of when he started his NBA career and some of these injuries, you know, he's not the same that he was when he was at his peak in Dallas, when I thought he was, you know, one of the most impactful and versatile defenders in the NBA, but he just plays winning basketball and very, very unselfish and selfless.”

Maxi Kleber Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks — May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) high-fives guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the Western Conference Finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Doncic, who has played with Kleber for his entire NBA career thus far, also chimed in on the veteran big man after he had a few highlights against the Kings.

“I always say Maxi, since our days in Dallas, I really enjoyed just all the things that he sometimes doesn’t show on the statistics, but to play with him is amazing,” Doncic said.

Veteran forward Rui Hachimura also lauded Kleber’s impact on the team following Sunday’s game against Sacramento.

“He's the guy that makes our team,” Hachimura said of Kleber. “He has good energy. He always brings good energy to the team. We always talk about how we need to be more like Maxi or we need to be like Maxi. We always talk about that. I know how he approaches this every day and brings positive energy. He always brings good energy to the team, whether he plays or not. He is always on the bench cheering for the team and trying to help the team win, but that kind of stuff is really big. He's a vet. He’s almost like 35 or something, so he's a vet. I think he knows exactly what's his role is and when he gets a chance to play, he always makes some plays (like) hustle players. He likes to do that stuff.”

Although Kleber’s impact isn’t seen much on the stat sheet, he’s definitely made an impression on Redick and his teammates and will be missed on Tuesday if he’s ultimately ruled out against the Pelicans.