Lakers key piece eager to make debut vs. Clippers after missing opener

Collin Sexton was hoping he could’ve been on the floor for the Lakers’ season-opening blowout win over the Warriors.

He felt “pretty close” to playing on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena as he worked his way back from a strained right soleus (calf) that sidelined him for the entire preseason.

But the 6-foot-3 guard needed a little bit more time before he was ready to make his season debut.

The wait will end on Friday night when the Lakers host the Clippers in their second game of the regular season, with Sexton set to make his debut for his new team after being removed from the injury report.

“I’m super excited,” he said after Friday’s shootaround. “Look forward to it. Just ready to get out there and get it to the guys and be back playing some basketball again.”

Sexton expects to be on a playing time restriction when he makes his season debut but wasn’t sure how many minutes he’d be allowed to play as of Friday morning.

“I haven’t talked to [coach JJ Redick] just yet, but we’ll go over it after shootaround,” he said.

The No. 8 pick in the 2018 draft said it was “definitely disappointing” to sit out of the season opener. 

But it allowed him to apply his focus elsewhere.

“One thing I was able to do is just stay present, just continue to be a leader, and continue to use my voice as much as I can,” Sexton said. “Just continue to come in with the right attitude and the right approach. Sometimes those are things – the only thing you can control, so that’s how it goes.”

The former Alabama guard was also able to witness Walker Kessler, who he was teammates with in Utah from 2022-25, have a historic performance in his Lakers debut.

The 7-foot-2 center scored 26 points on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting performance in the Lakers’ dominant win over the Warriors. 

He became just the second player in Lakers franchise history to make at least 12 field goals without missing, joining Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 34 points on 14-for-14 shooting in 1969.

And his 10 dunks were the most by a Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003, according to ESPN, and the most dunks by a player in the league’s play-by-play era (since 1996-97)

“Walker had a great game,” Sexton said. “It was one of those games where [he] just let the jitters out. So, it was pretty cool to see him start his Laker debut like that. I was super excited for him.”