The Lakers are in Oklahoma tonight to face the Thunder for Game 1 of their second-round series. Late in the second quarter, Jarred Vanderbilt was helped back to the locker room after injuring his fifth (pinky) finger on a defensive play.
Following an assessment of the incident to understand what caused the injury and potential outcomes, Dr. Evan Jeffries, a sports injury expert and the NBA and NFL’s injury insider, gave his opinion on the injury on social media.
“Jarred Vanderbilt looks to be in A LOT of pain after hitting his right hand on the backboard. Concern would be dislocation/and or fracture of the finger,” wrote Dr. Jeffries on X.
Jared Vanderbilt looks to be in A LOT of pain after hitting right hand on backboard. Concern would be
-Dislocation/and or fracture of finger pic.twitter.com/hp7LAPAShZ
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) May 6, 2026
After reviewing a better angle of the video, he said it is more likely to be a dislocation of his finger, but there is still a possibility that Vanderbilt has fractured his finger.
“Better view of the Jared Vanderbilt injury. Likely right 5th digit (pinky) dislocation/and or fracture,” wrote Dr. Jeffries on X.
Better view of the Jared Vanderbilt injury
Likely right 5th digit (pinky) dislocation/and or fracture pic.twitter.com/81HG70NN4r
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) May 6, 2026
Another video of the incident subsequently went viral, which showed the Thunder bench’s reaction to the incident. Jared McCain and Aaron Wiggins seemed shocked after seeing Vanderbilt writhing in pain near their bench.
Thunder bench reaction said it all smh Vando’s really done 🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/O0mzAa9z3V
— ♕𝕕𝕒𝕧𝕠𓅓 (@shpillo_) May 6, 2026
Vanderbilt did not return to the bench in the second half, which is clearly a sign that he is done for tonight and likely will not see the court again. If what the doctor fears is true and he has a fracture, then he would need at least a month to recover, if not longer. Which means it is possible that his 2026 playoff run could be over.
The Lakers forward ended his night with just two points and one rebound. He averaged 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 points per game in the playoffs so far while shooting 42.1% from the field. But his absence will be felt more on defense as he has more impact on that end of the floor.
Vanderbilt played some key rotation minutes for the Lakers in the first round to match up with the Rockets’ size. Similarly, they would have needed him for roster depth to counter the size of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein inside the paint, as well as guarding shooters like Lu Dort and Jaylin Williams, who could sting the Lakers from the perimeter.
But unfortunately, it seems that the likelier outcome is that his season is over tonight.
