Lakers’ Deandre Ayton goes full pirate mode after getting poked in eye

Jan 21, 2026 - 16:15

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their second straight win with an impressive comeback victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets were in control of this game for most of the way, but Los Angeles used a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to take back the momentum, and ultimately held on for a 115-107 victory.

At one point in the game, Lakers big man Deandre Ayton was poked in the eye, and afterwards, he took to his social media to post a picture of himself with an eyepatch on, comparing himself to a pirate in the process, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.

From Deandre’s IG: https://t.co/BVi0xIjnXg pic.twitter.com/fnXvfYnQon
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2026

Ayton finished the game with just four points and eight rebounds, having to exit early due to the eye issue. Ayton previously missed a game for the Lakers against his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, which necessitated some minutes for reserve big man Drew Timme.

Timme was once again in the rotation on Tuesday night in Denver, scoring nine points to go along with three rebounds in 11 minutes of action. The former Gonzaga product has been impressive in his limited opportunities thus far with the Lakers in 2026, and it remains to be seen whether head coach JJ Redick will carve out a spot for him in the rotation once the Lakers have their full depth of talent available.

Los Angeles currently sits at 26-16 on the season, having shaken off a recent rough patch with back to back wins over the Toronto Raptors and now the Nuggets. With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, it will be interesting to see how aggressive Rob Pelinka and company will be, considering that defense remains a glaring issue with this team.

In any case, the Lakers will next take the court on Thursday evening for a road game against the crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers.

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