Los Angeles Lakers big man JaVale McGee will not play in Thursday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets due to illness, per Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet:

This marks the first inactive of the season for JaVale McGee, who has been every bit as good as the Lakers hoped he would be when they re-signed him this past summer.

JaVale McGee is one of L.A.'s vital frontcourt pieces alongside Dwight Howard, and he has been efficient when he is on the floor. McGee is averaging 7.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in just 17 minutes per contest, giving the Lakers a legitimate interior presence on both ends of the floor.

The 32-year-old recently opened up about his decision to return to Hollywood (via Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register):

“I was thinking about starting, of course, and also playing with some of the greatest players ever and having the contention to win a championship,” he said. “That’s always on my mind. So I mean I felt like this is the best opportunity for me to possibly start and win the championship out of any other team. I took it.”

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JaVale McGee has started in all 44 of his appearances, though Lakers head coach Frank Vogel grapples with playing time allotted to Howard and Kyle Kuzma in the frontcourt, as well.

While the Lakers owe much of their success to the sensational play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they likely would not sit atop the Western Conference without contributions from players like McGee.

In fact, JaVale McGee and the rest of the imposing frontline have been absolutely essential in Los Angeles' year-over-year improvement on the defensive end.

However, the Lakers will have to get the job done against the Nets without JaVale McGee, who sits for the first time.

This is the kind of challenge the Lakers have generally been able to handle this season. What's one more at this point?