Latest Austin Reaves sighting at Lakers practice adds hope to quick injury return

On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers will kick off their 2026 NBA postseason slate with a home game against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers will be counting on LeBron James to turn back the hands of time in this one, as they will be without both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic for at least the beginning of this series.

Recently, a video was released of Reaves, who is dealing with an oblique issue, shooting at Lakers practice.

(Video via Michael J. Duarte of The California Post on X, formerly Twitter).

Austin Reaves (oblique strain) shooting threes after Lakers practice today. pic.twitter.com/XK2jEE5pJY

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) April 15, 2026

It was an optimistic sight for Lakers fans, who are hoping that their shorthanded team can hold down the fort until Reaves and Doncic are able to return.

For his part, James played exceptionally well over the last few games of the season when he was the lone star out on the court for the Lakers, putting up efficient high-scoring shooting nights and finding his teammates open on the perimeter for good looks from beyond the arc.

James will need to do all of that and more against a Rockets team that started to round into form down the stretch of the 2025-26 season, going on a prolonged win streak and looking like an elite squad on both sides of the ball.

This series will match James up against longtime adversary Kevin Durant in a playoff series for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals, when James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Durant was on the Golden State Warriors.

If James and the Lakers can stay afloat for the first part of the series, it’s not off the table that Doncic and/or Reaves could come back at some point and help get them across the finish line.

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