The Los Angeles Lakers are back in action on Friday night taking on the Phoenix Suns in their preseason opener at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs.
Unfortunately though, the Lakers will not be at full strength as head coach JJ Redick ruled out LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero. None of the injuries are serious, but the Lakers are understandably being cautious early in the preseason. James, in particular, is entering his 23rd season and on the verge of turning 41 so there’s no reason for him to get significant reps in exhibition games.
That group is not the only players that won’t be suiting up as Luka Doncic will also miss the first two preseason games on Friday and Sunday. Doncic is not dealing with an injury but the organization is choosing to be cautious with him as well after playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket this past summer, via Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:
Luka Dončić will sit out the first two preseason games, in part due to his run with Slovenia at EuroBasket. The Lakers and the performance team want to take the long view as he ramps up to the regular season opener.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 3, 2025
This makes sense as Doncic is the present and future of the Lakers franchise so they do not want to risk him getting hurt or overworked, especially when other key players are missing preseason games as well.
The Lakers definitely need some time on the court together to build chemistry, but they have six total preseason games plus practices in order to do that.
With Doncic, James and others out, it will give other players on the Lakers roster more opportunities to show the coaching staff what they are capable of.
Doncic has spoken about wanting to take on a bigger leadership role for the Lakers but in the first two games of the preseason, that will have to come from the sidelines as opposed to on the court.
Lakers coach JJ Redick believes Luka Doncic is committed to maintaining body transformation
Getting into this level of shape was extremely important for Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, but it will be equally important to maintain this as he moves forward, something Lakers coach JJ Redick believes he is committed to doing.
“This is his life, this is his routine, this is just a daily commitment to the new standard that he set for himself. His excitement level, not just in what he hopes the season will be, but his excitement level in embracing this new standard was very high.
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