NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
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 when he came down. Vanderbilt was in a ton of pain, and even the Thunder bench shrunk in Vanderbilt’s hand.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt leaves 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 scary in my opinion,” Thunder guard Jared McCain said after Oklahoma City wrapped up the 108-90 victory. “I don’t even know what I was looking at to be honest. It looked pretty bad though. So prayers for him. Sending him love.”
Vanderbilt, which averaged 4.4 points per game in the regular season, played just six minutes in Game 1. He had two points and one 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 the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on May 5, 2026. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
“I went to check on him because it just looked bad,” Redick said. “He screamed audibly. Knew he’d done something. We’re obviously disappointed. But it happened and it’s just a freak injury.”
Los Angeles has been hit by the injury bug over the past month. The team lost Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic in the last few games of the regular season. Reaves returned to the floor for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets.
Against the Thunder, he scored just eight points in 36 minutes.
Doncic is still nursing a hamstring injury that cost him the last 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 of the second round NBA playoffs in Oklahoma City on May 5, 2026. (Kyle Phillips/AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Match 2 is set for Thursday evening.
