Lakers' Austin Reaves Injury Loss Could Be Pricey Role Player's Gain

Dec 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) waits on the court during a time out in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been in the midst of an All-Star-worthy run thus far this season. The 27-year-old has been averaging 27.8 points while slashing .503/.369/.875, plus 6.7 dimes and 5.6 rebounds for the 17-7 Lakers. He has become the Robin to Luka Doncic's Batman in Los Angeles, supplanting LeBron James as a long-term priority.

Now, the 6-foot-5 Oklahoma alum will miss time with a new injury. Reaves suffered a mild left calf strain and is set to be out for at least the next week recovering. Calf strains have been the ailment de rigueur of the league lately, tricky injuries that are very case-contingent and have recently yielded worse injuries if players return too quickly.

All-NBA Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton infamously returned too quickly from a calf strain during the NBA Finals this past summer, and ultimately tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the series, dulling his team's offensive attack and setting the stage for an eventual Oklahoma City Thunder series victory.

Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes that Reaves' loss may be a Lakers teammate's gain, however.

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Forward Jarred Vanderbilt was recently squeezed out of head coach JJ Redick's rotations thanks to his lackluster offense. But LA has suffered defensively without him. On the year, the team's ranks 27th in opponent 3-point shooting, at 38.5 percent, and 24th in opposing field goal percentage, at 48.2 percent. Overall, the Lakers rank just 21st in defensive rating, 117.7.

Sans Reaves, and with the defense flailing, Vanderbilt could return to the floor in a significant way.

“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty eager,” Vanderbilt reflected following a team practice. “I mean, obviously, I think a lot of the stuff we lack, I think I can help provide on that end.”

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When asked by Turner how he felt about his inconsistent minutes, Vanderbilt seemed outwardly optimistic.

“Good,” Vanderbilt said. “Controlling what I can control. Keep showing up to work, doing my part, supporting the team.”

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Los Angeles' offense, mostly behind the efforts of Doncic and Reaves, has propped it up for much of this stellar early run.

“It’s been a trending thing even when we was winning, so I think like you said, the defense still wasn’t there, but we was just outscoring everybody,” Vanderbilt said. “So, I think obviously during the loss, it’s an appropriate time to address certain things just so it won’t keep lingering and get worse.”

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.