The Lakers are set to play the Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden. According to JJ Redick’s latest pregame injury report, Austin Reaves has once again been declared unavailable for tonight’s game for the Lakers.
Redick had initially upgraded Reaves’ status from questionable to a game-time decision, saying the Lakers’ guard could have played tonight. He was seen getting his shots up during warm-ups before the game tonight, a positive sign for Lakers fans.
Austin Reaves going through his pregame warmup to test out his calf pic.twitter.com/UiU2uiLc1Q
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 1, 2026
But unfortunately, Redick and the coaching staff have decided to keep Reaves on the sidelines for another game. Reaves has missed the last 18 games with a left calf strain and has been eagerly awaiting his return to the court.
The Lakers are currently only in the seventh game of an eight-game road trip. They are set to face the Nets in their next game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Reaves could potentially make his return to action after being inches away from making a return tonight.
Before his injury, Reaves was averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 50.7% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc in 23 games.
The Lakers will continue to start Marcus Smart in his place as Reaves will rejoin Bronny James (Lower left leg soreness) and Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) on the injury list.
Lakers Get Their Second All-Star In LeBron James
The 41-year-old LeBron James has been selected for his 22nd All-Star game as a reserve for the Western Conference. He joins Luka Doncic as one of the two representatives from the Lakers for the All-Star game.
This was the first time James was not selected as a starter, ending a 22-year streak of being selected. Last year, due to an injury, James could not play in the All-Star game, despite his selection.
This year, for the first time in his career, James has not been selected to start the All-Star game but will come off the bench. He is currently averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 50.2% from the field and 32.8% from beyond the three-point line.
Before his extended injury, Reaves was also making a solid case to become an All-Star, carrying the Lakers at a time when even Doncic and James were injured at the start of the season.
One could argue that if he hadn’t gotten injured, the Lakers could have three All-Star players, considering his averages were better than what James did for his selection.
There are currently three teams in the West: the Thunder, the Nuggets, and the Lakers, with two All-Stars on their roster and two in the East: the Pistons and the Knicks.
If Reaves had been selected, the Lakers would be the only team in the league with three All-Stars. But unfortunately, Reaves has missed out this time.
