The Los Angeles Lakers have started the season with a 7-3 record despite a number of key players missing time due to injury.
LeBron James has yet to make his season debut, while Luka Doncic has missed four games and Austin Reaves missing three.
Those are basically all of the Lakers’ ball-handlers, and to make matters worse, their backup point guard Gabe Vincent has also been limited to just three games. He suffered a left ankle sprain in the team’s recent win over the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 26 and was originally given a 2-4 week timetable to return.
Ankle sprains can be tricky and Vincent got his pretty good, but according to Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group, the guard is making good progress and could return as soon as three weeks from the injury:
JJ Redick said Gabe Vincent's on-court work assistant coach Lindsey Harding has progressed, but mentioned he hasn't done contact work since suffering the sprained left ankle on Oct. 26.
Mentioned LAL's hoping the 2-4 week timeline is closer to 3ish.
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 8, 2025
The Lakers began a five-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. They will be on the road for over a week before returning home and hosting the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, Nov. 18. That would be right around the three-week mark for Vincent, so it’s possible he makes his return to action in that game.
In the meantime, other players like Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James have done a nice job stepping up for the Lakers in the backcourt. This team was build to have multiple ball-handlers on the floor at all times though, and injuries haven’t allowed them to do that much to this point.
Luka Doncic enjoying playing with Lakers roster
At 7-3 the Lakers have been one of the surprise teams so far this season, and their chemistry has been a big reason for it. After their most recent win, Luka Doncic made it clear that he is enjoying playing with this Lakers team and believes they can accomplish great things once they get everyone healthy.
“Honestly the feeling is that I’m enjoying it very much playing with these guys,” Doncic said. “Like you said, you know AR [Austin Reaves] can play, we’re still missing Bron [LeBron James]. This team has big potential. Everybody steps on the court and gives maximum effort, so it’s very enjoyable to play.”
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