Lakers Center Ruled Out for Second Consecutive Game vs Kings

Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2), forward LeBron James (23), forward Rui Hachimura (28), center Jaxson Hayes (11), and Luka Doncic (77) celebrate after scoring against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers reserve center Jaxson Hayes has been ruled out for Sunday's contest against the Sacramento Kings with knee soreness.

This will be the second consecutive game on the sideline for the big man, and especially with superstar Luka Doncic's recent injury news, things are looking bleak for the purple and gold.

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Jaxson Hayes (knee) ruled out Sunday.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 26, 2025

The last time that the Lakers saw the Kings, Hayes injured his wrist during their final preseason game of the year and left the contest early.

Although Hayes was healthy enough to start the regular season, knee soreness after his regular season debut has now held him out for a second consecutive game.

Across 14 minutes off the bench, Hayes put up four points, six rebounds, and an assist during the Lakers' 119-109 Tuesday loss to the Golden State Warriors.

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Hayes re-signed with the Lakers on a one-year, $3.4 million deal this past offseason despite a disappointing end to the 2024-25 campaign. Because he has signed a third consecutive one-year minimum deal, he receives a full no-trade clause in his contract due to the nature of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement.

Knowing that last season didn't end how anyone around the organization wanted, Hayes appeared to use it as fuel to work on his body over the summer. He spoke during media day about his self improvement.

“It was really important to me just because I’ve always been a little lighter,” Hayes said. “Wanted to gain good, healthy weight. Me and our strength coach Randy [Flores] and my chef and our nutritionist, Ms. Becci [Twombley] all just worked together this summer and getting me eating the right stuff and eating a certain amount of calories and just doing lifts that will help me kind of gain the right weight and just make sure my body still feels good while gaining this weight.”

Hayes added 20 pounds this offseason and is presumably itching to get back on the court.

“I love this team," Hayes said. "I wanted to get a full go at it this year with the whole group that we have right now. JJ and [Rob Pelinka] were really talking to me about coming back, so I was just really excited about that.”

The Lakers tip off against the Kings at 6:00 p.m. PST on Sunday.

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