Jaxon Hayes sat out the Timberwolves with a knee injury
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff series. During that streak, the Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick eventually pushed out starting center Jackson Hayesand the team will be without Hayes for the second leg after being sidelined with a knee injury.
“Christian (Colocco) is active,” Redick said during the pregame media availability. “We’ll figure it out based on who’s on the floor.”
Jackson Hayes was officially listed as dealing with knee soreness on the team’s injury report, and his absence leaves a hole in the Lakers’ frontcourt rotation. While Hayes played well last season as the starting center following the departure of Anthony Davis, he is best suited for a backup role.
With Hayes out, that role will fall to Christian Kolok, who is back with the Lakers on another two-way deal.
Despite a disappointing end to last season for Hayes, he decided to re-sign with the Lakers in free agency. During the Lakers’ opening night loss to the Golden State Warriors, he finished with four points, six rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes of action.
Hayes played a total of 35 games as the starting center last season. During that span, he averaged 7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 72.9 percent shooting from the field and 55.6 percent from the free throw line in just over 22 minutes per game.
Hayes suffered a wrist injury during the Lakers’ final preseason game after catching Luka Doncic’s lob, but ended up being available for the season opener against the Warriors.
The No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Hayes is in his seventh year in the NBA. He originally joined the Lakers as a free agent ahead of the 2023-24 season. Before that, he played four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans where he was teammates with Redick.
2025-10-25 00:56:00
