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Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a gruesome finger injury during the team’s Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Vanderbilt went up to block Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s dunk, but missed. Instead, his pinkie got caught on the backboard as he came down. Vanderbilt was in a ton of pain, and even the Thunder bench winced at Vanderbilt’s hand.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt walks off the court in pain during the first half of Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 5, 2026, in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
“I mean, it just — it looked pretty gruesome in my opinion,” Thunder guard Jared McCain said after Oklahoma City finished off the 108-90 victory. “I don’t even know, to be honest, what I was looking at. It looked pretty bad, though. So prayers for him. Sending him love.”
Vanderbilt, who averaged 4.4 points per game during the regular season, only played six minutes in Game 1. He had two points and a rebound.
Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke about Vanderbilt’s mishap after the game, calling it a “freak injury.”
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt runs down the court during the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on May 5, 2026. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
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“I went to go check on him because it just looked bad,” Redick said. “He was audibly screaming. Knew he had done something. We’re obviously disappointed. But, that happened, and it’s just a freak injury.”
Los Angeles has been hit with the injury bug over the last month. The team lost Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic for the last few games of the regular season. Reaves returned to the floor for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets.
Against the Thunder, he only scored eight points in 36 minutes.
Doncic is still nursing a hamstring injury, which cost him the final five regular-season games and now Game 1 against Oklahoma City.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jared McCain and Alex Caruso defend during the first half of Game 1 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Oklahoma City on May 5, 2026. (Kyle Phillips/AP)
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Game 2 is set for Thursday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.