Getty
JJ Redick Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA cup game at FedExForum on October 31, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Did the Los Angeles Lakers mishandle the Austin Reaves injury?
The fifth-year guard missed three games with a mild calf strain in his left leg earlier this month, before returning to the lineup last Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns. In a devastating turn of events, he was diagnosed with a grade 2 left calf strain on Friday, a day after sustaining the injury in the first half of the Christmas Day clash against the Houston Rockets.
That Reaves’ return from injury lasted all of 1.5 games has led some to wonder if the Lakers medical staff misdiagnosed his initial injury and rushed him back.
Two Injuries Unrelated: Insider
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, though, has confirmed that the two injuries are unrelated, even though they’re both left leg calf strains, albeit of varying degrees of severity.
“Reaves recently missed three games because of a mild calf strain in his left leg — a separate injury from the one he sustained Christmas Day in the first half of the Lakers’ 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN,” wrote McMenamin.
The Lakers announced Friday that Reaves will be re-evaluated after 30 days, essentially ruling him out for all of January and possibly until after the All-Star Break.
Lakers Fans Frustrated
Several fans on social media felt that the Lakers rushed Reaves back from his injury, and should have allowed him to fully heal from his previous calf strain.
“The Lakers rushed him back, and now he’ll be out at least a month in a contract year. DEVESTATING IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT,” wrote LakersLead, a popular Lakers fan account on X and Instagram.
“WENT FROM GRADE 1 STRAIN TO GRADE 2 BECAUSE THEY RUSHED AUSTIN REAVES,” fumed another Lakers fan.
“They rushed Austin Reaves back because this roster is incompetent, ran him through the ground with his minutes and games he had to carry and now he has a grade 2 calf-strai. Its not fair,” opined another irate Lakers fan.
Austin Reaves Return Timeline
It’s worth noting that the Lakers had Reaves on a minutes restriction in his first game back last Tuesday, as he logged just 22 minutes off the bench against the Suns. As such, it’s rather unfair to presume that the Lakers threw Reaves back into the thick of things without being cautious about his injury.
Furthermore, the Lakers medical staff made the call to rule Reaves out for the second half of the Christmas Day game after he complained about discomfort at halftime.
“Austin clearly felt something,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters after Thursday’s loss to the Rockets. “We did our normal halftime and then as we were walking out of the locker room, [Lakers director of player performance and health] Dr. [LeRoy] Sims told me he was out.”
While Reaves will be re-evaluated in 30 days, injury expert Jeff Stotts expects him to miss at least 40 days based on the history of players diagnosed with grade 2 calf strains. It’s also worth mentioning that calf strains have notoriously led to Achilles tears in recent years, with Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton suffering the worst outcome in last season’s playoffs. That’s precisely why the San Antonio Spurs have been extra cautious with their franchise star, Victor Wembanyama, who missed 30 days with a calf strain earlier this season and has since come off the bench in a limited role.
It shouldn’t come as a shock if Reaves doesn’t return until mid-to-late February.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Lakers
Loading more stories