The Los Angeles Lakers announced that forward/center Maxi Kleber will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks with an oblique strain.
Kleber missed all but one of the Lakers six preseason games as he was dealing with a quadriceps injury. He played 10 minutes against the Sacramento Kings in the team’s preseason finale last Friday, logging three points and two rebounds.
This is yet another in a long string of injuries for the stretch big man since being traded to the Lakers last February in the Luka Doncic deal. He was unavailable after the trade as he was recovering from a foot surgery due to a fracture.
Kleber recovered in time to play in the Lakers final game of the season, their Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The hope was that by getting him on the floor for that game, he could get some NBA speed back under his belt before having a fully healthy offseason.
The quadriceps and now the oblique injury have prevented him from doing so, and he will now miss at least the first two weeks of the 2025-26 season, potentially more.
He joins LeBron James (sciatica) and Adou Thiero (left knee surgery) as the players on the Lakers roster who will not be available on Opening Night against the Golden State Warriors.
JJ Redick explains Opening Night starting lineup for Lakers
JJ Redick treated the Lakers’ preseason finale as a dress rehearsal on Friday night, playing regular rotations for a majority of the game for the first time.
That included selecting a fifth starter to replace the injured LeBron James alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.
The decision came as a bit of a surprise as Redick chose Gabe Vincent, who is having an exceptional preseason but is one of the smallest players on the roster.
Redick explained why he chose Vincent, although he also cautioned that this lineup may not last more than one game with things constantly changing.
“I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries and there’s things that happen throughout a year,” Redick said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s going to start Game 1. After that, I don’t know. But I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and DA, and Gabe is another ball handler, another tough defender. I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.”
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