The Los Angeles Lakers selected Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th choice in the 2023 NBA Draft after he played one season of college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Unfortunately, Hood-Schifino will miss the first week of his rookie season due to a knee injury.

Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range in 32 games for the Hoosiers.

Hood-Schifino appeared in four preseason games and averaged 3.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

The Lakers will play their first regular-season game of the 2023-24 season on Tuesday evening, when they travel to Denver to face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.

They are coming off a season in which they finished eighth in the Western Conference with a 43-39 record.

After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament, the Lakers advanced to the playoffs by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies (second seed) and the Golden State Warriors (2022 NBA Champions) in the first two rounds.

The Lakers, on the other hand, were swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

Nonetheless, the squad is captained by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves, and they will be considered a contender heading into the new year.