EL SEGUNDO — Jake LaRavia was asked to do a lot for the Lakers last season.
He played in all 82 regular-season games, starting in a career-high 43. The 24-year-old wing rotated into that starting rotation as LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves dealt with prolonged absences due to injuries, keeping him on the court often.
“He’s brought a really high level of consistency, particularly on the defensive end, and with his effort throughout the season,” Coach JJ Redick said after the Lakers’ regular-season finale last season.
But by his own admission, LaRavia wasn’t at his best when the season ended. After the All-Star break, his field goal percentage and 3-point percentage slipped as his shot attempts decreased.
Last March, Redick referenced his blow-by rate on defense before LaRavia found a resurgence as the regular season crawled to a conclusion.
Ultimately, however, as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, LaRavia turned persona not grata – ‘DNP (coach’s decision)’ – in the final two games back in Los Angeles.
LaRavia took the offseason to reflect and reassess – something he hopes pays dividends this season.
“This summer was a summer of reflection and intentionality for me,” LaRavia said Monday during the team’s annual preseason media day. “I think the way that the second half of the season went last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it. …”
“And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen. So this summer, a lot of it was just mental reflection for me and working on that side of the game.”
The Lakers signed LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million contract in the summer of 2025 after targeting him partly due to his “disruption numbers” – steals and deflections – with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, Redick said on March 30, something the Lakers ranked in the bottom half of the NBA in during the 2024-25 season.
With the Lakers, LaRavia’s defensive work rate has been his calling card, averaging a career-high 1.3 steals per game last season and recording 104 total steals, just one fewer than Doncic, who led the team.
LaRavia said he knows he’s going to play hard, play defense and crash the boards. Offensively, however, is where he spent most of his offseason effort for improvement.
“Consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me,” LaRavia said Monday. “So that was definitely the main thing that I focused on this summer was just being consistent with my jump shot and just working on that. So now we see.”
Speaking with the media after practice on Thursday, LaRavia called this season’s training camp “the best one that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in the league,” noting the intensity and physicality on display. LaRavia said his goals are to stay aggressive whether he’s making or missing shots, as well as playing through fatigue to get back into peak basketball shape for the regular season.
“I think I (have) had a great training camp from a mindset perspective and what I had going into it,” LaRavia said. “And from what I’ve worked on this summer also, bringing that into training camp, I thought I did a really good job, so I was very happy with the way it went.”
Redick has made it clear that there are still two starting spots up for grabs.
Early tealeaves point to guard Quentin Grimes likely filling one of those spots, but LaRavia returns the second-most minutes on the roster. Whether LaRavia takes one of those spots – or another wing/forward such as Ziaire Williams stakes his claim – joining Doncic, Reaves and center Walker Kessler in the starting five, or not, the second-year Laker is seeing commitment across the board from his new and old teammates alike.
“Everyone’s bought in and willing to sacrifice what it is for us to succeed,” LaRavia said.