The Lakers (32-20) are set to face the Spurs (36-16) tonight without four key players: LeBron James (left foot arthritis), Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain), Austin Reaves (left calf injury management), and Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness).
With Deandre Ayton (right knee soreness) also listed as questionable, one is bound to wonder if the Lakers are violating the player participation policy after four of the five players mentioned above played in last night’s 110-119 loss to the Thunder.
The answer is they’re not due to the Winter Olympics coverage on NBC. If NBC did not have to cover the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, it would most likely have the Lakers-Spurs game in the Pacific Time Zone spot. But since they don’t, this matchup is not televised nationally.
The player participation policy emphasizes nationally-televised games and the NBA Cup games as the main events where teams are expected to ensure that star players are available.
“Under the policy, unless a team demonstrates an approved reason for a star player not to participate in a game, then, among other things, the team must:
- Manage its roster to ensure that no more than one star player is unavailable for the same game.
- Ensure that star players are available for all national television and NBA In-Season Tournament games.
- Maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences for a star player in home and road games.
- Refrain from any long-term “shutdowns” in which a star player stops playing games.
- If resting a healthy player, ensure that the player is present at the games and visible to fans.
The policy includes exceptions for injuries, personal reasons, and pre-approved back-to-back restrictions based on a player’s age, career workload, or serious injury history,” reads the NBA’s player participation policy.
Since Doncic has missed a couple of games, his absence will certainly not raise any eyebrows as he falls under the injury exception. LeBron James has the player age exception applicable for back-to-back games. Meanwhile, the other players are recovering from injuries.
But since tonight’s matchup is not on national television, it is unlikely that the league will look into the player absences for the Lakers as long as they are sitting on the bench in street clothes with the team. Thus, the Olympics have allowed the Lakers to load manage their roster under permissible exceptions.
James, Doncic, and Reaves have reportedly played together in 10 of the Lakers’ 51 games this season. And LeBron James seems to believe that the lack of time spent together on the court is holding the team back from realizing their full potential.
The Lakers have just one more game (against the Mavericks) before the All-Star break. Doncic could potentially be back for that game and will look to avoid missing the All-Star weekend.
And James has ended his streak of 21 consecutive All-NBA selections, as this absence has rendered him ineligible for the postseason honor. So maybe the load management was indeed a necessity for the veteran superstar today, with the other key players.
A small silver lining for the Lakers tonight is that Adou Thiero, their rookie, returns to action tonight after missing 21 games due to an MCL sprain.
Do you think the shorthanded Lakers can beat Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs tonight? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
