Los Angeles Lakers forward Maxi Kleber has been cleared to play against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. He was listed as questionable with an abdominal strain, but will make his regular-season debut. Kleber will join Luka Doncic and the Lakers amid a five-game winning streak, which was extended after Wednesday's 118-116 win against the San Antonio Spurs.
Doncic flirted with a triple-double (35 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists), leading the Lakers to victory and will have Kleber at his disposal amid his return after a nine-game absence, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
“Maxi Kleber has been upgraded to available today, per the Lakers,” McMenamin said. “He could make his season debut after missing the first nine games of the season with an abdominal strain.”
Kleber, who was traded to the Lakers alongside Doncic, played his first and only game for Los Angeles in a Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves (103-96) in the opening round of the playoffs, which ended the Lakers' season.
Kleber has shot the three at a 35.4% clip throughout his career, which peaked at 41% in 2020-21. Doncic and the Lakers will see if his shooting can return anywhere close that level of efficiency in Los Angeles, as the Lakers will go for an 8-2 record 10-games into the 2025-26 regular season.
Maxi Kleber on Luka Doncic's joy playing for the Lakers
Lakers forward Maxi Kleber played with Luka Doncic with the Mavericks revealed the difference he's seen in Doncic this season compared to last year in Dallas. Kleber, who spoke to how difficult it was for Doncic to accept the fact that the Mavericks had traded him, addressed the contrast he's seen in Luka through the early stages of the 2025-26 regular season, per the Sports Spectrum Network's Khobi Price.
“I think obviously it was a tough situation – very unexpected the way the trade went down and everything else with it,” Kleber said in a video clip shared by Price on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But it’s just a lot more fun to see him smile and having fun on the court. Obviously, everybody else on the team supports it and just wants to see him have joy too because it helps us too.”
Maxi Kleber, who was teammates with Luka Doncic in Dallas, says it's meant "a lot" to him to see Luka be outwardly more joyful with the Lakers and his teammates over the last couple of months.
Luka was yelling: "Oh yeah Maxi! Yeah Maxi!" earlier during Maxi's availability: pic.twitter.com/hKAWvP1UtB
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 8, 2025
The Lakers' matchup against the Hawks kicks off a five-game road trip that continues against the Hornets on Monday.
