The Los Angeles Lakers entered their matchup against the Boston Celtics healthy, but that quickly changed once Jaxson Hayes was ruled out from the contest due to an ankle injury.
It is unclear when Hayes specifically injured his ankle during the game, but he only played five minutes in the first half before being ruled out for the second half. Hayes’ absence led to more minutes for Deandre Ayton, though head coach JJ Redick also tried to get away with more small-ball minutes as well.
Hayes has been having the best year of his career to date as he’s been a legitimately good rotation player backing up Ayton. Hayes has great chemistry with Luka Doncic on pick and rolls, but he’s also been a much better rim protector during the 2025-26 season.
Redick announced that Hayes underwent imaging on his right ankle that showed a small bruise. The big man is considered day-to-day and the expectation is he’ll be deemed questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
JJ Redick says Jaxson Hayes received imaging on his right ankle Monday, which showed a "little bruise." Redick said Hayes is day-to-day going forward and assumed the backup center will be listed as questionable for Tuesday's game vs. ORL
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 23, 2026
Losing Hayes for any amount of time would be a blow for the Lakers as their center depth isn’t great behind Ayton. Maxi Kleber showed flashes before the All-Star break, but has largely remained on the bench since the roster briefly returned to full health.
Redick has experimented with LeBron James or Jarred Vanderbilt as the nominal center in small-ball lineups, though those lineups have been brutal defensively. Hopefully Hayes is able to suit up against the Magic as the Lakers need all the help they can get to keep pace in the Western Conference standings.
Jaxson Hayes unlikely to compete in NBA Slam Dunk Contest again
Jaxson Hayes got to represent the Lakers during 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend in the annual NBA Slam Dunk Contest, though he didn’t advance past the first round. He put up a couple of underwhelming dunks in his lone appearance, a rather big disappointment for fans who were looking forward to seeing him perform in Los Angeles.
While Hayes previously expressed his dream of participating in the Dunk Contest, he said he likely won’t do it again after feeling his first dunk attempt in his knees.
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