Austin Reaves discussed his recovery process after suffering a Grade 2 left oblique strain, according to a May 3 statement. The Los Angeles Lakers guard was sidelined late in the season, with an initial timeline of four to six weeks for his return.
Reaves’ absence was felt as the Lakers faced the Houston Rockets in the postseason. Despite being out, he worked extensively on his rehabilitation and returned to play in Game 5 and Game 6, which matched the early end of his projected recovery period. “It was good. Obviously, it would have been much easier if I was able to play a couple real games before [the second round],” Reaves said after their Game 6 win. “But, you know the nature of what happened with the injury at the time, you got to play the cards you’re dealt. Literally, we did literally everything we could possibly do to get myself back in this opportunity. There were days where I left my house at 7:30 in the morning and didn’t get back until 7:30 or later at night. Just going through every possible thing I could go through to help myself get better and we did it as a collective. We huddled up when it first happened, it was basically attack every single day after that.”
The Lakers managed a strong performance against Houston even without key players like Reaves and Luka Doncic due to injuries suffered late in the regular season. Coaches and teammates responded by stepping up during their absence.
With two games played since returning from injury, Reaves now has time to prepare for Los Angeles’ next challenge against defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder alongside LeBron James.
Reaves also spoke about difficulties adjusting offensively upon returning from nearly a month away from game action but emphasized that neither he nor Doncic needed to rush back into competition.
