Lakers center Jaxon Hayes secures Slovenian passport, making him eligible to team up with Luka Doncic on Slovenia’s national team and pursue the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Faced with injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the Lakers embrace a "three-braided cord" philosophy led by LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, and Marcus Smart.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers reached 50 wins Tuesday night, a familiar benchmark that carries a very different meaning this time around.

A Tuesday night tripleheader of NBA playoff games on NBC and Peacock wraps up with the Los Angeles Lakers playing host to the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their first-round series. The Lakers won 107-98 in Game 1 despite the absence of injured scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) as four-time NBA MVP LeBron James had 19 points,

That’s how you get to Oklahoma City from Los Angeles. The Lakers? That’s a different story. They were good, then bad. They were faux-contenders, and they now have a real chance to play deep into the playoffs.