NBA: Jarred Vanderbilt suffers ‘gruesome’ injury to right pinkie

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, center, goes up for a shot as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jared McCain (3) and Alex Caruso, second from left, defend in the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 5, 2026 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

OKLAHOMA CITY— Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured his right pinkie when he attempted to block a dunk by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren during Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal matchup on Tuesday night.

Several players on the Thunder bench immediately looked away at the sight of the finger.

READ: NBA Playoffs: Chet Holmgren leads Thunder past Lakers in Game 1

“I mean, it just — it looked pretty gruesome in my opinion,” Thunder guard Jared McCain said. “I don’t even know, to be honest, what I was looking at. It looked pretty bad, though. So prayers for him. Sending him love.”

Vanderbilt had swiped at Holmgren’s dunk attempt from behind and hit his finger on the backboard. Holmgren made the dunk to put the Thunder up 48-39 with 5:57 left in the second quarter.

Vanderbilt bent over while holding his hand, then left the game.

“I went to go check on him because it just looked bad,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He was audibly screaming. Knew he had done something. We’re obviously disappointed. But, that happened, and it’s just a freak injury.”

Vanderbilt’s absence trimmed the Lakers’ nine-man rotation to eight. The reserve only played six minutes and finished with two points.

The Thunder led 61-53 at halftime and eventually won 108-90.