While it is still very early in the season, the Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of wing Jake LaRavia is already looking like a major steal. He has been outstanding during the Lakers’ three-game win streak, which started in Minnesota against the Timberwolves and also featured a moment with Anthony Edwards that went viral.
In the fourth quarter of the contest a fan was heard yelling “Who is number 12?” To which Edwards, who was out due to injury, responded “That’s what I’m saying! I don’t know.” It was a hilarious moment as Edwards likely legitimately had no clue who this guy was that dropped 27 points and eight rebounds in the Lakers’ victory. And after another strong performance in the Lakers’ win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night, LaRavia spoke on that viral moment in Minnesota.
“I kind of put my hands up like this to agree with him, like who’s number 12?” LaRavia said. “I kind of played into it a little bit. I find that kind of stuff funny, because I am not well known at this moment, so I’ll just, you know, head down, working hard. That’s all I do.”
With Sunday’s contest being the Lakers’ first home game since that moment, LaRavia admitted that he heard the same thing from the home fans as well. But the Lakers’ wing feels the moment is a good thing overall as people are now getting to know him and he thanked Edwards for it.
“Yeah, I think it’s good,” LaRavia added. “Shoutout to Anthony Edwards for allowing that clip to go viral. I think it’s good, I think it’s funny.”
If he wants to continue raising his popularity, LaRavia will need to continue his outstanding stretch of play. Against the Heat he finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals and head coach JJ Redick praised him for starring in his role.
“But [with] Jake, it was just another great game from him,” Redick said. “He’s allowing the game to come to him. He’s comfortable with the off-ball stuff and the cutting and just reading the game right now. [I’m] not surprised that he’s found a level of comfort, just from coaching against him last year and watching him play when he did play his first couple years.
“He just got a knack for the game. He does. He just knows how to play. He’s solid in a number of areas. I think he’s a great compliment to our main guys. He’s starring in his own way right now, which is awesome.”
The belief for LaRavia was that with a consistent role he could start reaching his potential as a two-way wing and so far with the Lakers that has proven to be the case.
Lakers coach JJ Redick wants Jake LaRavia to use Timberwolves performance as reference point
The fact that Jake LaRavia has continued his strong play since that Timberwolves game would seem to indicate that the wing is doing exactly what head coach JJ Redick was looking for and using that performance as a reference point moving forward.
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