What Happened to Darius Bazley? Lakers Summer League Star Carried off in Wheelchair vs Celtics

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“I wouldn’t really describe any of my stint or whatever as success. I think it’s all a part of like a journey that’s still going but you know being here is nice…It’s an opportunity that I’m not taking for granted.” That was Darius Bazley just a day before the Lakers’ Summer League game against the Boston Celtics. And he meant every word. For a guy who was a first-round pick, took a wild path to the league by interning at New Balance instead of playing in college, and then found himself out of the NBA entirely, this summer was everything. It was a mission, as he called it, to “revamp my career” and prove he still belonged. And he was doing just that.

Throughout the summer, Bazley has been the Lakers’ best and most consistent player. At 25, he’s a “young man,” as coach Lindsay Harding calls him, but a veteran by Summer League standards. He’s been playing with the hunger of a man fighting for his career, averaging over 12 points, 6 rebounds, and a team-leading 2.3 blocks per game. He was doing it all, showcasing the two-way game that once made him a lottery prospect. “Bazley is an amazing defender,” Harding said. “He can guard on-ball, he can guard a point guard, he can guard a center… he can do everything.”

Then came Thursday night’s game against the Celtics. It was a tight, chippy affair—exactly the kind of game where a player like Bazley could make his mark. With the score tied at one point in the second half, the energy in the arena was electric. And in a horrifying moment, just as he was driving to the basket to make a play, his comeback story took a devastating turn.

Bazley went down hard. As reporter Mike Trudell tweeted, the scene was grim: “Darius Bazley… went down in the 2nd Q with an injury and had to be carted off to the locker room.” Lakers Nation added to the concern, tweeting, “Wheelchair’s out for Darius Bazley who appears to have suffered a right leg injury. Brutal for the young forward, but hope he’s OK.” He was in obvious, considerable pain, and the sight of him being taken off the floor in a wheelchair sent a wave of concern through the entire arena. For a player who had been fighting so hard to get back, it was heartbreaking to see.

 

Darius Bazley, who’s had a strong summer for the Lakers as he battles to get back on an NBA roster in the fall, went down in the 2nd Q with an injury and had to be carted off to the locker room. We’ll look for an update after the game.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 18, 2025

(This is a developing story…)

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