The Lakers may have dodged a serious setback, and now the wait is on for Jake LaRavia’s ankle.
LaRavia was forced out early in Los Angeles’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors, then missed Friday’s game against the LA Clippers. Still, JJ Redick said before the matchup that the forward could be back soon, with Sunday, Oct. 25 on the road against the Utah Jazz or Tuesday, Oct. 27 at home against the Portland Trail Blazers both in play.
“We talked to him this morning before shootaround and he was going to try to give it a go. He went to the treatment room and it’s just not there,” Redick said during his pregame press conference before the Clippers game. “But he’s hopeful he can be back Sunday if not Tuesday.”
The injury happened about midway through the fourth quarter against Golden State, when LaRavia drove to the rim and went down under the Lakers’ basket. He stayed on the floor for a bit before getting up and walking to the locker room on his own.
Even with the injury, he gave Los Angeles a strong 18-minute burst. LaRavia finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal, hitting 4 of 5 shots overall and 2 of 3 from deep.
That kind of effort is part of why Redick sounds so confident about what LaRavia can bring when he’s right. The fifth-year forward played all 82 games last season, and Redick said LaRavia had pushed through some injury issues to hit that goal.
“We talked last week and he mentioned that was one of his goals for the season,” Redick said. “He had the same goal last year. He was able to do that, played through some stuff at times last year.”
LaRavia is in his second season with the Lakers after signing as a free agent in the 2025 offseason. His first year started well, but his play tailed off as the season wore on, and he eventually found himself benched during the Western Conference Semifinal loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For the season, he averaged 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from 3-point range and 76.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Redick also said after the Warriors game that LaRavia had been giving the Lakers exactly the type of performance he wants to see.
“I saw him being himself. When he’s shooting with confidence and making catch and shoot 3s, that’s an added bonus,” Redick said.
“We have a group of guys that do a lot of things to impact winning that don’t necessarily show up in the box score, and certainly won’t show up in a highlight reel on Instagram. He’s a winning player.”
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