LOS ANGELES – Before the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2025-26 season got underway on Tuesday, the team was dealt an injury blow. It was announced that reserve big man Maxi Kleber had suffered an oblique injury and would be sidelined for at least the next two weeks.
Maxi Kleber joined the Lakers as part of the Luka Doncic last season, but hasn’t been able to make an impact mostly because of his injury woes. Prior to the Lakers’ opening night games against the Golden State Warriors, head coach JJ Redick gave a heartfelt take on Kleber’s unfortunate luck since joining the team.
“Maxi, he’s a pro. He’s just a terrific teammate and a hard worker. I feel bad for him. . .I feel really bad for him right now,” Redick said. “He bemoaned to me yesterday, he’s like, ‘I do everything right. I take care of myself, I get my sleep, I put the right things in my body, I work out, I train,’ and he’s just been bit a little bit by the injury bug here the last two seasons.”
“So I really feel for him,” Redick continued. “I’m thankful this is a short term thing, but I know that he’ll be in a position in a few weeks to help this basketball team.”
Kleber has yet to appear in a regular season game with the Lakers since the trade. When he arrived last season, he was still recovering from a foot injury. He did make his return to the court during Game 5 of the Lakers’ opening round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished that game with two points in five minutes as the Lakers were eliminated.
During training camp, Kleber sustained a quad injury that limited him to only one preseason game. He had three points and two rebounds in a little over ten minutes in that game.
Before his recent spat of injuries, Kleber had been one of the better floor-spacing big men in the NBA with the Mavericks. He played a key role in the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals in 2024, appearing in 13 playoff games at a little over 16 minutes and shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range on just about two attempts per game.
Throughout his career, Kleber holds a mark of 35.4 percent shooting from three-point range. He has a unique skill set for the Lakers in that he’s the only big on the roster who can consistently shoot from the three-point line.
Even before the recent setback, it seemed like Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes were locked in as the Lakers’ center rotation, but JJ Redick has made it clear that if and when Kleber is healthy, he will get his opportunity to help the team.
