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LeBron James is Lakers’ only healthy star – what’s next with 4 games left?

April 7, 2026

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James woke up from his post-practice nap on Saturday in Dallas and checked his phone.

The Lakers had practiced that day with the expectation that Austin Reaves would likely be out for a “little bit of time” after injuring his oblique during their Thursday night loss in Oklahoma City, Coach JJ Redick said.

But Redick said the news that followed was “devastation” and “disappointment,” with Reaves joining Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) on the sidelines for at least the rest of the regular season after suffering a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury. It was a deafening shock to James’ system.

“I woke up with that news,” James said Sunday of learning about Reaves’ diagnosis. “It was like another shot to the – it was a shot to the heart, obviously, and to the chest, and to the mainframe with Luka.”

The twist of fate in the Lakers’ season has not just scuttled their NBA title odds, but transformed the final week of the regular season into a tricky equation of figuring out where their scoring production is going to come from.

For now, all eyes turn to James, who at 41 years old is leading the charge with just four games remaining until the playoffs begin the weekend of April 18-19. James had 30 points, a season-high 15 assists and nine rebounds in the Lakers’ 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. They finished with 36 assists, tied for their second-best total of the season.

“He played great, first of all,” Redick said of James, whose 22 shot attempts were his second-most in a game this season. “I thought we did enough intentionally to get him sort of out of actions and not try to have him involved in every single play when he was out there. … (We) did a great job of sharing the basketball.”

James leading the Lakers (50-28) in scoring isn’t out of the norm, in fact, practically the expectation since he joined the franchise in 2018. But during March, the four-time league MVP’s role shrunk in comparison to Doncic and Reaves. James averaged just 18.5 points per game as the Lakers stormed to a 15-2 record for the month, his lowest scoring average in any month in which he has played at least five games this season and the lowest of his career since November 2003 during his rookie season.

Doncic, who is in Spain, ESPN reported, for treatment to try and expedite his recovery, scored at least 40 points in a game seven times in March. The Slovenian star had 51- and 60-point games as he set the pace for the Lakers while James embraced his new role as the team’s third star on the court.

“The best thing for our team is (James) being the third highest-used player,” Redick said on March 16 during the Lakers’ nine-game winning streak.

Coaches such as the Indiana Pacers’ Rick Carlisle answered questions about James’ screening ability rather than scoring as the NBA’s career scoring leader championed the change with his high-effort, off-the-ball displays.

Against the Denver Nuggets on March 14, James sprawled across the floor for a loose ball and forced a tie-up that eventually helped lead to the Lakers tying the game in regulation before winning in overtime. James later admitted to Redick that he had never made such a play during his 23-year NBA career. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra raved over his former player’s execution when the Lakers visited Florida during a mid-March trip, referencing the play James made against the Nuggets

Now, for the Lakers to extend their season long enough for the likes of Doncic and Reaves can return, James is going to have to spearhead the upcoming stretch starting with another game against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16) on Tuesday night. Redick said he hopes that James doesn’t have to carry too much of the offensive load.

Redick mentioned players such as forward Rui Hachimura and center Deandre Ayton as candidates to step up their contributions. On Sunday, swingman Luke Kennard and center Jaxson Hayes both scored in double figures.

As of Monday morning, the Lakers still occupied the No. 3 seed for the Western Conference playoffs despite being tied with the Nuggets (50-28) since the Lakers own the head-to-head tiebreaker. The current No. 5 seed, the Houston Rockets (49-29), took down the Golden State Warriors on Sunday to move within a game of the Lakers and Nuggets, though the Lakers own the tiebreaker against the Rockets as well.

Houston plays the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, while the Nuggets were hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Of the Lakers’ four remaining games, Sunday’s regular-season finale against the last-place Utah Jazz (21-58) is the only game resembling a near-certain win, especially given the Lakers’ injuries. Their games against Oklahoma City, Golden State (with Steph Curry healthy again) and Phoenix the rest of the week will be tests against squads that are headed to the postseason.

“We still have an opportunity to get the three seed,” James said on Saturday. “We got to go out and win basketball games. … We know we got OKC. We got Golden State, who is still fighting. We got Phoenix, who is still fighting. It’s going to still be a little tough on us. We got to be ready for that.”

THUNDER AT LAKERS

When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM

Orange County Register

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LeBron James is Lakers’ only healthy star – what’s next with 4 games left?

THUNDER AT LAKERS

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