Latest Stat Shows Over 75% of Lakers Payroll is Injured Right Now

Los Angeles is very ailing — at a very inconvenient time.

Feb 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Luka Doncic (77) react after a play during the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Losers of four straight, the Los Angeles Lakers have a good excuse: they are very, very ailing.

Per HoopsHype, 78.9 percent of the Lakers' payroll ($148.1 million, to be specific) was on the shelf with an injury in L.A.'s last contest, a 131-126 defeat to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and ex-Laker Russell Westbrook's Denver Nuggets on Friday night. They trail only the Philadelphia 76ers, who in a disastrous season are resting 96 percent of their payroll.

HOLD ON: WE HAVE A NEW RECORD

Sixers have 96 percent of their payroll sidelined right now.

Oh man. pic.twitter.com/FzQhelEV49

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) March 14, 2025

Against the Nuggets, starters LeBron James (who's making $48.7 million this year), Luka Doncic ($43 million), Rui Hachimura ($17 million), Jaxson Hayes ($2.5 million) all sat, as did key reserves Dorian Finney-Smith ($14.9 million), Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber ($11 million apiece).

Things got so dire for Los Angeles health-wise that a two-way signing, guard Jordan Goodwin, had to be pressed into service as a starter.

The loss knocked the Lakers down to a 40-25 record on the year and the Western Conference's No. 5 seed.

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Los Angeles is currently just 2.5 games ahead of the No. 7-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (39-29). Sporting the league's oldest active player (for the second year), 40-year-old forward James, L.A. would likely prefer to avoid any extra play-in tournament games.

In the loss, Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht each scored over 30 points, combining for 69 points on 26-of-53 shooting from the floor (9-of-23 from deep) and 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe. Reaves became just the second Laker ever to notch a 20-point, 10-assist first half in the play-by-play era, joining future Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

Lakers to record 20+ points & 10+ assists in a half in the play-by-play era:

1.) Kobe Bryant
2.) Austin Reaves pic.twitter.com/iHnblN0lbG

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 15, 2025

Only two other Lakers managed to score in double digits, Goodwin and guard Shake Milton.

When healthy, Doncic and James represent one of the most lethal duos in the freshly reconfigured league, capable of beating pretty much anybody on any given night — even if Hayes is their de facto best traditional center (Hachimura occasionally suits up as a small-ball five).

Doncic arrived to Los Angeles in a blockbuster three-team deal with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz in February. 10-time All-Star former Lakers champion Anthony Davis didn't even last a full game before suffering yet another injury. His fate for the rest of the year remains up in the air.

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Former two-time Lakers champion guard Ron Harper, for one, is convinced that both the Lakers and the Mavericks will be able to thrive following the exchange, as he told longtime NBA insiderBrandon "Scoop B" Robinson during a fresh career-spanning interview.

"The NBA is a business,” Harper told Robinson. "I think the Luka and the Anthony Davis trade is going to work out for both teams. Luka is going to become the face of a great organization for the next ten to twelve years."

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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.