Matthew Valento

Matthew Valento graduated from Boise State University with a major in integrated media and strategic communications and a minor in journalism. He grew up in Santa Clarita, California and played basketball at Saugus High School. Along with writing for LakersNation.com, Matthew also hosts a basketball podcast called, "The Basketball Maestros." Contact: MattV@MediumLargeLA.com Twitter: @matthewvalento Instagram: matthew.valento
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1071 Articles

Austin Reaves On Growing Up Kobe Bryant Fan & LeBron James Hater

Since Austin Reaves arrived to the Los Angeles Lakers as a rookie in 2022, he quickly emerged as one of the biggest undrafter steals in recent memory. Reaves has improve in each of his five seasons and built a strong…

Lakers News: Kevon Looney Excited To Team With Walker Kessler

Heading into this offseason, a big area of emphasis for the Los Angeles Lakers was bolstering the center position. They were able to do exactly that by bringing in Walker Kessler via a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz and then…

Lakers Video: Luka Doncic Meets Golfer Scottie Scheffler At The Open Championship

Unfortunately, Luka Doncic's season was cut short due to a Grade 2 left hamstring strain after having an MVP-caliber year. The Los Angeles Lakers went on a playoff run without their best player and still advanced past the Houston Rockets…

Cameron Carr Eager To Continue Learning Following First Summer League

Cameron Carr was the Los Angeles Lakers first round pick this year at No. 24 overall after trading up one spot. Most mock drafts had Carr being selected just outside of the lottery and it appears his slim frame may…

Lakers News: Walker Kessler Ready To Play In High Stakes Games

The first order of business for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason was acquiring a long-term center to pair with star Luka Doncic. Granted, it was came at a hefty price, but general manager Rob Pelinka was able to bring…

Quentin Grimes Ready To Take On Challenges Defensively For Lakers

Quentin Grimes is one of seven total new acquisitions by the Los Angeles Lakers so far as they navigate a new era with LeBron James departing. L.A. made a commitment to Grimes by signing him to a four-year, $60 million…

Lakers News: Chris Mañon Focused On Being ‘Winning Player’

Summer League is fun to watch because unproven players can make a name for themselves, and it appears the Los Angeles Lakers may have a few doing exactly that this year. One of them is two-way wing Chris Mañon, who…

Lakers News: Arthur Kaluma Discusses Breakout Summer League Performance

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a great start in the Las Vegas Summer League, picking up two dominant wins thus far against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. On Saturday night against Dallas, the team was…

Austin Reaves ‘Excited’ About Lakers’ New Roster Additions

This upcoming season will feature essentially a brand new Los Angeles Lakers roster built around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Everyone that started Game 1 against the Houston Rockets has departed and it puts into question how soon this team…

Derek Fisher Confused By Why Fans Didn’t Love LeBron James’ Tenure As Laker

The Los Angeles Lakers are now in a new era as a franchise by navigating life after LeBron James while shifting focus to building a championship roster around Luka Doncic. It is hard to build a title contender in one…