Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers have a few players who are dealing with injuries. LeBron James is expected to be out until at least mid-November due to sciatica, rookie forward Adou Thiero is still recovering from a knee ailment and Bronny James has been dealing with an ankle sprain.
On Friday, during the team’s final preseason game, backup center Jaxson Hayes sustained a wrist contusion and had to exit early. Coach JJ Redick said afterward that X-rays on Hayes’ hurt wrist were negative, and on Sunday, he said that there may be a good chance Hayes will be ready for L.A.’s regular-season opener on Tuesday.
“We got great news on Jackson with the X-ray and the MRI. So he’s trending that way,” Redick said.
Hayes said on Sunday that his wrist is feeling OK.
Jaxson Hayes says his wrist is doing fine after taking a hard fall last Friday. He said he hurt himself “being a dummy” by trying to catch himself while falling.
— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) October 19, 2025
Hayes played well during the preseason and looked like he was ready for the task of backing up Deandre Ayton at the 5. He averaged 7.6 points on 57.7% shooting from the field, 5.8 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks in 16 minutes a game this month, and the Lakers badly need him to be available to start the season, as they don’t really have a reliable third-string center.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jaxson Hayes gives update on his injured wrist ahead of opening night
