Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith underwent surgery on his left ankle and is expected to be able to participate in the training camp prior to the 2025-26 NBA season.
The procedure will allow the 31-year-old player to play without pain, after solving a persistent ankle injury that affected him during the last seasons.
Finney-Smith missed eight games due to what the Lakers called “left ankle injury management” after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets to Los Angeles. Previously, he missed 12 games with the Nets, with the left ankle injury causing problems in his left calf.
Despite the injury, Finney-Smith was key to the Lakers securing the third spot in the Western Conference and their first 50-win season since 2019-20.
Following the trade of D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks to acquire him and Shake Milton on December 29, the Los Angeles team had a 29-14 record in the 43 games that Finney-Smith played (and 14-6 in the 20 games he started) during the regular season.
Lakers coach J.J. Redick turned to Finney-Smith with the Lakers’ starters in the playoffs, substituting him at the start of the third quarter of Game 4 of the Los Angeles first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jaxson Hayes and having him play the entire second half of the 116-113 loss. Redick kept Finney-Smith in the starting unit for Game 5, a loss that ended the series 103-96.
Finney-Smith was a valuable “3-and-D” contributor for a Lakers team that finished 11th in the team’s offensive rating and 17th in the team’s defensive rating last season.
The nine-year veteran finished the season averaging 7.9 points on 44.2% shooting (39.8% from 3), 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Lakers.
Finney-Smith has until June 29 to opt out of the final year of his contract worth $15.4 million for next season. He is eligible for an extension before free agency begins on June 30.
