JJ Redick Reveals Lakers' Starting 5 for Opener vs. Steph, Warriors amid LeBron Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers have revealed their starting lineup for the beginning of the 2025-26 NBA season.

The Lakers started Luka Dončić, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachiumra and Deandre Ayton in a Friday night preseason matchup with the Sacramento Kings, per NBA reporter Jovan Buha.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick said this lineup would serve as a preview for Tuesday night's season opener against the visiting Golden State Warriors, per Buha.

The Lakers are heading into the season without LeBron James, who has been sidelined throughout training camp and the preseason due to sciatica on his right side.

ESPN's Shams Charania recently reported that James will be "taking a patient approach" to his return, and that the star could remain sidelined until mid-November.

Ayton, who signed a two-year deal with the Lakers in July, will be under pressure to manage the frontcourt in James' absence.

Dončić made his debut alongside Ayton in Tuesday's preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. He said after the exhibition loss that he is still working on building chemistry with his new teammate.

"I mean, it's probably just more (on) me. Obviously, (I'm) the guard with the ball," Dončić said about playing with Ayton (h/t The Athletic's Dan Woike). "But like I said, it's more talking about it and what he likes. I know he likes the pocket, too. So I'm trying to get used to that too. But it's just mostly talking about it and playing games."

Dončić will have one more preseason game on Friday to continue building that connection with Ayton.

Vincent, meanwhile, may have played his way into the spot with a strong preseason for the Lakers. His 22-point outing in Wednesday's exhibition matchup with the Mavericks was enough to get him a social media shutout from James himself.

Redick will hope Vincent and Ayton can step up to help the Lakers stay competitive while waiting for James to return to the lineup this fall.