Lakers Get Positive Injury Update on 2 Players Before Facing Clippers

After putting on a clinic against the Golden State Warriors during their season opener, the Los Angeles Lakers will get back to work on Friday night, taking on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Although the Lakers got off to a hot start, the team still has a few injury issues heading into this matchup.

Collin Sexton Officially Cleared & Jake LaRavia is Questionable

During the win over the Warriors, forward Jake LaRavia went down with what looked like a bad ankle injury that threatened to force him to miss some time.

Fortunately, the Lakers got some good news about LaRavia and guard Collin Sexton. The team announced that Sexton has been cleared to play Friday, while LaRavia is questionable, which is a better status than expected.

Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero remain OUT for tomorrow's game against the Clippers, while Jake LaRavia is QUESTIONABLE. Collin Sexton appears to be cleared pic.twitter.com/xRz6GmFbMk
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 23, 2026

Even though Sexton will likely make his Lakers debut against the Clippers and LaRavia’s injury isn’t as bad as it looked, Los Angeles will still be without rookie Cameron Carr and second-year forward Adou Thiero, who remain on the mend.

Despite the unfortunate absences of Thiero and Carr, the Lakers seem to be headed in the right direction with veterans Sexton and LaRavia.

Walker Kessler's Stellar Lakers Debut Sparking Reaction From Shaq

There was a lot of uncertainty about how the revamped Lakers roster would look to start the 2026-27 NBA season, but that didn't last long once the team started crushing Stephen Curry and company at Crypto.com Arena.

Perhaps the most impressive performance on Wednesday night came from Walker Kessler, who went a perfect 12-for-12 from the field, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Kessler was a constant lob threat, as he threw down 10 times, which is the most by a Lakers player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003.

After the game, O'Neal had some high praise for Kessler.

"Walker Kessler is the best big man in the NBA."@SHAQ has high praise for the Lakers' new center after his season debut 🙌 pic.twitter.com/rhiECypFH9
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 22, 2026

"Walker Kessler is the best big man in the NBA," O'Neal said. "You heard it here."

A bold statement from the Lakers legend, but he clearly liked what he saw from the new anchor of the defense for Los Angeles.

Kessler and company will try to keep it going against the Clippers, who also got off to a hot start to the 2026-27 campaign, with a blowout win against the Sacramento Kings.

The 25-year-old center will be going up against Isaiah Jackson and Brook Lopez, meaning might be able to have a repeat performance to help the Lakers get to 2-0.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google