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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716 Articles

Anthony Davis Pokes Fun At LeBron James After Passing Michael Jordan For Most 30-Point Games

Friday night featured another historic moment for LeBron James as he surpassed Michael Jordan for the most 30-point games in NBA history in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Atlanta Hawks. After knocking down an absurd turnaround fadeaway jumper…

Lakers News: Nets’ Sean Marks Commends Rob Pelinka For Getting Dorian Finney-Smith Trade Done

After two years of inactivity, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka faced mountains of scrutiny due to not improving the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, Pelinka finally ended the drought by trading for Brooklyn Nets forward…

Rui Hachimura: Lakers Have Learned To Trust Each Other

On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were taking on the Sacramento Kings for the third time in little over a week. However, L.A. needed a player like Rui Hachimura to step up with LeBron James being sidelined due to…

Lakers Acquire Dorian Finney-Smith & Shake Milton In Trade With Nets

The Los Angeles Lakers announced that they have acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade involving D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and second-round draft compensation. Finney-Smith is a much-needed 3-and-D wing who is shooting a…

Lakers News: Dalton Knecht Still Confident In Ability Despite Recent Shooting Slump

Bench production was an area of concern coming into the 2024-25 season for the Los Angeles Lakers. There have been improvements since the start of the year though as D'Angelo Russell and Dalton Knecht have been two players that have…

JJ Redick: Max Christie In Starting Lineup Presents Optionality Defensively For Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has spent the first portion of the season trying to find the right combination of starters to accompany LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves. Seeing how L.A. needs more two-way players, Max…

Lakers News: Dalton Knecht Surprised By LeBron James’ Commitment To Madden

As Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James nears his 40th birthday, somehow he is still maintaining a high level of play. Seeing how many miles are on his body throughout 22 seasons is unfathomable, but he continues to find ways…

Anthony Davis Discusses How Lakers Have Improved Defensively

Defense is something that the Los Angeles Lakers have typically taken pride in, but that script completely flipped to start the 2024-25 season. That came as a bit of a surprise considering Anthony Davis is manning the middle, but head…

Lakers News: LeBron James Commends Rui Hachimura For Doing Little Things

Something the Los Angeles Lakers have been searching for is a player who does the little things. That player is typically Jarred Vanderbilt, but he has yet to suit up this season so Rui Hachimura seems to be trying to…

Jayson Tatum’s Agent Sets Record Straight After Magic Johnson’s Comments About Lakers Pre-Draft Workout

The 2017 NBA Draft was important for the Los Angeles Lakers as they were in the midst of a youth movement. That class featured high-quality talent in Markelle Fultz, Jayson Tatum, De'Aaron Fox and Lonzo Ball, who L.A. would ultimately…