Lakers' Austin Reaves diagnosed with Grade 2 left calf strain, out at least four weeks

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ first turbulence of the 2025-26 season has worsened. If they hope to stabilize the ride, they will have to do it without one of their most indispensable players.

Guard-forward Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain — a moderate tear to the main muscle in the calf — and will be sidelined until he is re-evaluated in four weeks, the team announced Friday.

Reaves left Thursday’s Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets at halftime with renewed calf discomfort. He did not return to the game, which ended in a 113-94 Lakers loss that was one-sided to the point Houston led by double digits for the entire second half.

The injury stems from a calf strain Reaves initially suffered two weeks earlier. The Lakers had classified the first injury as mild, and it cost him three games. He returned to practice last week and was cleared for game action, but coach JJ Redick acknowledged after the Rockets loss that something was still off.

Redick said the Lakers’ next practice, scheduled for Saturday, would be “uncomfortable” for certain players — a remark aimed at a team that has shown defensive and effort-related breakdowns in recent weeks. Redick clarified that Reaves was not among the group drawing frustration, praising him privately and publicly for professionalism, competitiveness, and consistency.

Still, the absence will sting. The Lakers have lost three straight and six of their last 10 after opening the season as one of the West’s most efficient offensive teams. Their defensive numbers, already trending downward against younger, faster teams, will now be tested further without a player who had become their connective tissue — a scorer who also initiates, defends multiple positions, and fills the gaps around the generational duo of Luka Dončić and LeBron James.

Reaves’ emergence as the Lakers’ third star has been one of the defining narratives of the NBA season. The 27-year-old entered the year viewed as a high-level role player, but by December he had rewritten expectations, averaging 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1 steal per game, and logging more than 35 minutes nightly while shooting efficiently from all three levels. His pick-and-roll chemistry with Dončić had become the Lakers’ most reliable secondary action, while his late-clock shot-making often bailed them out of stagnant possessions.

Reaves’ breakout arc has made him not only a central piece of the Lakers’ present, but also a flashpoint for their future. Because he is in a contract year, and because the Lakers’ roster has holes they may need to patch at the trade deadline, Reaves has been mentioned in outside league speculation — particularly from executives who see him as one of the few Lakers players who could return All-Star-caliber value in a deal.

His recovery timeline now intersects awkwardly with the NBA calendar. The Lakers are scheduled to play 14 games between now and the four-week mark, meaning Reaves could miss nearly all of them if his body heals on schedule. His re-evaluation is expected to land in late January, barely one week before the Feb. 5 trade deadline — a date that now carries even more significance for the Lakers given their recent slide.