Lakers’ Big Man To Undergo Surgery, Receives Shocking Timeline

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Anthony Davis in the loss to the Golden State Warriors. They fixed the damage by beating the Atlanta Hawks. However, the Lakers will be without one of their players as Christian Wood will undergo a surgery. The Lakers big man will have a surgery to fix his left knee and is set to miss at least a few weeks.

Anthony Davis’ eye issue gave fans a big scare and it turns out it’s not the only issue Darvin Ham has to deal with at this point.

Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN was among the first to share the update on Wood’s injury.

“ESPN Sources with [Dave McMenamin]: Los Angeles Lakers F Christian Wood will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks,” Wojnarowski reported in a post on X on March 18. “The Lakers final regular season game is April 14.”

C Wood vs everybody 💪 pic.twitter.com/K2iT94Iqb7

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 10, 2023

McMenamin recalled details on Wood’s situation and confirmed that it all happened during the All-Star weekend.

“Wood has been out more than a month already after experiencing swelling in the knee during the All-Star break,” he detailed.

The Lakers will fill the void as the big man undergoes a surgery

Wood has a key role in Ham’s scheme. He averages 6.9 points on 56.8% true shooting, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game with the Lakers this season. His numbers may not be huge, but the Lakers look great with him on the basketball court. Cleaning The Glass reported that the Lakers’ net efficiency differential is plus-0.2 without Wood on the floor and plus-1.9 without him. The big man really makes a difference for the franchise.

Losing Wood is a big blow for the Lakers. However, fans got some good news regarding the return of Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. Jovan Buha from The Athletic reported that both players “are progressing” as expected.

Jarred Vanderbilt working on one-legged shots pic.twitter.com/Kgodd6ae1m

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 18, 2024

Vanderbilt missed a big chunk of the season. Having him back in the fold could make things easier for everyone. He averages 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 29 games with the Lakers.