Jalen Hood-Schifino, whom the Los Angeles Lakers selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is likely to miss the remainder of his rookie season after undergoing a successful lumbar microdiscectomy on Thursday, the team announced.

The Lakers did not provide a timetable for his recovery, though ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that Hood-Schifino is expected to heal over the summer. The procedure involved shaving a bulging disk in his back, per McMenamin.

Hood-Schifino, 20, was somewhat of a surprise selection by the Lakers' front office in last June's draft. The 6'6 guard's old-school game — navigating pick-and-rolls, operating out of the midrange, conducting halfcourt offense — is relatively polished for his years, but he was not expected to impact winning as a neophyte.

Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 33.3% 3-point shooting in his one season at Indiana.

With LeBron approaching season 21, the Lakers were expected to take a more NBA-ready prospect. The two picks after Hood-Schifino were UCLA's Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Santa Clara's Brandin Podziemski — key rotation players for the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, respectively.

Hood-Schifino impressed in Summer League, and was the talk (the “MVP”, per Darvin Ham) of the first two days of training camp. However, he looked overwhelmed in the few instances when Ham gave him real minutes — the last being a brutal showing against Jaquez and the Heat on Jan. 3.

Hood-Schifino dealt with a knee issue that held him out from preseason through late November. He also dealt with back spasms around the same time. In 21 appearances, Hood-Schifino averaged 1.6 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists in 5.2 minutes per game.

Hood-Schifino tore up the G-League. In 15 games for the South Bay Lakers, Hood-Schifino put up 22.0 points on .447/.432/.800 shooting splits, to go along with 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

Like all those preceding it, the Lakers' injury report for Monday's game vs. the Atlanta Hawks did not mention Hood-Schifino's back issue. Hood-Schifino's last appearance for the pro squad was the final 50 seconds of garbage time in a loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 6.

The Lakers' second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Maxwell Lewis, has been active for most of the season but has averaged just 3.3 minutes across 25 appearances. In 23 starts for South Bay, the Pepperdine product has averaged 14.9 points on 36.9% 3-point shooting.

Meanwhile, the Lakers will have Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) back in the lineup for Friday's game vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. The team is holding out hope that Gabe Vincent (knee surgery) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot sprain) will return before the end of the regular season.

The Lakers (37-32) began Thursday three games behind the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks (40-29) for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference standings, and 0.5 games up on the Warriors (36-32).

Hood-Schifino signed a 4-year, $17.9 million contract with the Lakers, as determined by his draft position. He made $3.7 million as a rookie. He'll earn $3.9 million in 2024-25. The Lakers hold club options for 2025-26 ($4.1 million) and 2026-27 ($6.2 million).

As the Lakers consider acquiring a third star this summer — Trae Young, Darius Garland, Dejounte Murray, Donovan Mitchell — Hood-Schifino is expected to be included in potential trade packages. It remains to be seen how his back surgery could complicate his value.