Collin Sexton’s first chance to show how he fits with the Los Angeles Lakers may have to wait.
The guard showed up at Monday’s shootaround with his lower right leg wrapped, and his status for the preseason opener against the Sacramento Kings was still unclear. Khobi Price of the California Post reported that Sexton had wrapping around his calf area during media access, then later went through jogging, shuffling and resistance work with a harness.
No injury diagnosis was given, and nothing was confirmed about whether he would play. That leaves his Lakers debut in preseason limbo as the team shifts from practices into game action.
Sexton has already made it clear where he thinks he can help. At last week’s Media Day, he pointed to the bench as an area of need and said he sees a role built around energy and pace.
“I think for me something that I see, the need of the team before signing here was the bench,” Sexton said. “I feel like being able to come in and have an impact of bringing energy, bringing juice.”
He also framed that role as more than just scoring. Sexton said he wants to bring physicality and activity, even when the shots aren’t falling or the whistles aren’t going his way. And he made it clear that his approach won’t change whether he starts or comes off the bench.
That gives the Lakers a pretty clean way to judge him whenever his debut arrives. The points will matter, sure, but so will the tempo he brings and whether he stays engaged when another guard is running the offense.
Sexton averaged 15.4 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game in the 2025-26 season, production that gives Los Angeles another established scoring option to fold into the rotation. The real question is how much creation JJ Redick wants from him, and how often Sexton is asked to play off Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves instead of running the show himself.
Redick’s plan to stagger Doncic and Reaves opens the door for a lot of different looks. The coach also said he has confidence in Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Bronny James and Jaden Hardy as support pieces.
That setup could put Sexton in line to share the floor with either Doncic or Reaves rather than being stuck in a separate reserve unit. In those lineups, he can attack after the defense has already shifted. When he’s the one with the ball, the Lakers can see how much relief he gives the other creators.
For now, though, those are preseason questions, not final answers. If Sexton doesn’t go against Sacramento, the rest of the guard group will get more chances to handle those duties - and the Lakers will have to wait a little longer for their first real look at how Sexton fits into Redick’s combinations.
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Curry helped make sure the night had some edge for the Lakers, too. He played 14 minutes and scored 16 points as Golden State rolled to a 124-98 win, giving the game a little more weight than a typical tune-up. The teams will meet again in the regular season on October 21, when the stakes will be real and the Lakers will get their first chance to respond. [Read more 🡒]