Lakers’ ‘Iron Man’ streak comes to an end vs. Clippers

Jake LaRavia’s “Iron Man” streak with the Lakers will come to an end on Friday night. 

The fifth-year forward will sit out of his team’s home game against the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena because of a sprained right ankle that he suffered during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s season-opening win over the Warriors. 

It’s LaRavia’s first missed regular season game because of an injury or illness since he signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers in July 2025 after having played in all 82 regular season games in 2025-26.

He was one of 18 players to play in 82 regular season games last season.

LaRavia played in 90 straight games, the 82 regular season games and eight playoff games, in 2025-26 before being a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) for the Lakers’ final two playoff games of their four-game second round sweep against the Thunder.

The 6-foot-8 forward suffered the ankle injury midway through the fourth quarter, with the Lakers up by 33 points, when he attempted to drive into the paint with LJ Cryer guarding him.

Cryer impeded the drive, with the 2022 first-round draft pick awkwardly twisting his right ankle/lower leg before hobbling and falling to the floor.

LaRavia laid on the court and writhed in pain before team trainers helped him back to the bench.

He was able to put weight on the leg before going back to the locker room after subbing out of the game.

While coach JJ Redick didn’t have an update on the veteran forward immediately after the game, he was encouraged about his status compared to how it felt in the immediate aftermath of the injury.

“I’m probably more positive than when it first happened,” Redick said.

LaRavia was having a strong game before going down with the injury, scoring 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting off of the bench.

“I saw him being himself,” Redick said. “Again when he is shooting with confidence and making catch-and-shoot 3s, that’s an added bonus. We have a group of guys that do a lot of things to impact winning that don’t necessarily show up in the box score, certainly won’t show up in a highlight reel on Instagram. He’s a winning player.”

The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon was seen on an exercise bike alongside Adou Thiero, who’s also sidelined because of left knee swelling, at shootaround Friday morning before being ruled out.