Dave McMenamin and Tim MacMahon
Apr 7, 2026
LOS ANGELES — The Dallas Mavericks disputed Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick’s claim that their medical staff scanned the wrong area when performing an MRI on Lakers guard Austin Reaves over the weekend.
“Our medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time,” the Mavericks said in a statement first issued to DLLS Sports and later provided to ESPN. “There was no error in the scan performed.”
Redick, after the Lakers’ practice at Southern Methodist University’s campus Saturday in Dallas, said Reaves required two MRIs to diagnose a Grade 2 left oblique strain and blamed the Mavs for the initial scan’s execution.
“I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Redick said. “So [the mistake was] not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned, but they scanned the wrong area.”
A Lakers spokesperson declined to comment Tuesday when asked by ESPN about the chain of events surrounding the MRI.
Redick softened his tone before L.A.’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, saying, “In the end, we got the image we needed. And obviously very appreciative, because it’s happened throughout the season whenever the home team is accommodating to us, just like we would be for them. And we’re going to move on.”
Reaves suffered the injury in the first half of the Lakers’ 139-96 loss to the Thunder last Thursday and returned to the game, finishing with a team-high 15 points in 27 minutes. The Lakers have ruled the fifth-year guard out for the remainder of the regular season, and sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that Reaves is expected to miss four to six weeks.
L.A. (50-28) is currently fourth in the Western Conference with four games remaining, half a game behind the Denver Nuggets but holding the tiebreaker after winning the season series. The Lakers host the Thunder on Tuesday, then play back-to-back at Golden State on Thursday and at home vs. Phoenix on Friday before closing the regular season at home against Utah on Sunday.