Deandre Ayton goes into full pirate mode after getting poked in the eye
On Tuesday evening, The Los Angeles Lakers picked themselves up their second straight win with an impressive comeback win via the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets controlled this game for most of the way, but Los Angeles used a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to regain momentum and eventually hold on for a 115-107 win.
At one point in the game, the Lakers big man Deandre Ayton was poked in the eye, and after that he posted a picture of himself with an eyepatch on his social networks, comparing with a pirate in the process, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on X, formerly Twitter.
From Deandre’s IG: https://t.co/BVi0kIjnKsg pic.tvitter.com/fnKsvfInKon
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2026
Ayton finished the game with just four points and eight rebounds, forcing an early exit due to an eye problem. Ayton previously missed the Lakers’ game against his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, which required minutes for backup big man Drew Timme.
The team was in the rotation again Tuesday night in Denver, scoring nine points with three rebounds in 11 minutes of action. The former Gonzaga product has been impressive in his limited opportunities so far with the Lakers in 2026, and it remains to be seen whether head coach JJ Reddick will carve out a spot for him in the rotation once the Lakers have all the depth of talent available.
Los Angeles is currently 26-16 on the season after shaking off a recent rough patch with back-to-back wins over the Toronto Raptors and now the Nuggets. With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, it will be interesting to see how aggressive Rob Pelinka and company will be, given that defense remains a glaring issue for this team.
Either way, the Lakers will next take the court on Thursday night on the road against the rival Los Angeles Clippers.
2026-01-21 16:09:00
