The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of the home stretch of the regular season. They have seven games remaining and are currently in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings. And it’s possible that they get additional reinforcements before the playoffs begin. Backup big man Maxi Kleber has been sidelined due to a foot injuryMaxi Kleber has been sidelined due to a foot injury, but has recently progressed in his rehab.

Maxi Kleber has begun on court activities as he continues to rehab from his injury, the team announced, although there is not yet a concrete timeline in terms of his potential Lakers debut.

Kleber was initially acquired by the Lakers in the Luka Doncic trade with the Dallas Mavericks. As recently as about one month ago, there was reported optimism from the Lakers that Kleber would make his debut before the regular season ends.

The veteran big man would provide the team with another frontcourt option, one that’s able to space the floor with his three-point shooting. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has shown a propensity to go small when starting center Jaxson Hayes is off the floor, but having additional frontcourt depth for the playoffs is always beneficial.

Maxi Kleber progressing in injury rehab

Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) attempts to steal the ball from Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) during the second half at the Spectrum Center.
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Kleber has not played since Jan. 25 when he was still with the Mavericks. He suffered an injury against the Boston Celtics and ended up having surgery on his right foot. He was included as part of the Doncic trade.

Prior to this season, Kleber has played his entire NBA career with the Mavericks. He was signed as a free agent ahead of the 2017-18 season. Before that he had already played about seven years of professional basketball overseas from 2011-2017.

Kleber played a solid role for the Mavericks during their 2024 NBA Finals run. But this season, the eight-year veteran’s numbers were down across the board.

He had appeared in 34 games, including four starts, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He had been averaging 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 38.5 percent shooting from the field, 26.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 76.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Although Kleber’s shooting percentages are down, he is a career 35.4 percent shooter from three-point range. He averages around three attempts from the three-point line for his career, and last season he shot 42.9 percent from downtown during the Mavericks’ Finals run. He holds a playoffs career three-point shooting percentage of 38.8 percent.