Lakers News: Jaxson Hayes Leaves Suns Game After Suffering Injury in Final Minutes

Ricardo Sandoval | 6 Hours Ago

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) dunks against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) and center Alex Len (25) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes left the Suns game with a right ankle injury.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha shared the news via Twitter/X.

Jaxson Hayes fell to the ground after dunking and was clearly in a lot of pain with his right ankle. He was just helped to the locker room.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 27, 2024

Hayes left to the locker room just a couple of minutes left in the game.

The Lakers dropped their third consecutive game, 127-100.

It's unclear how serious this injury is. The Lakers will play on Wednesday in the second leg of a back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs.

His status for Wednesday's game will likely be doubtful.

Hayes was seen in a lot of pain and was helped into the locker room. The 24-year-old tallied seven points (2-2 FG, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and one steal across 17 minutes.

The Lakers had recently upgraded Hayes after he had missed nearly two weeks due to a left ankle issue. The Lakers have been thin at the frontcourt position, and Hayes' return was supposed to be a massive help.

Prior to Tuesday's game, Hayes had been huge for L.A. as the backup center to superstar Anthony Davis. In 10 games outside of Tuesday, he averaged 6.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks. Hayes also shoots 70.6 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free-throw line in 17.5 minutes of action.

This past offseason, Hayes exercised his $2.4 million player option for this season to remain in the purple and gold. After a tough season last year, he knew his market in free agency wouldn't be too hot, so he did the smart thing and took advantage of his player option.

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