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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1103 Articles

Collin Sexton Excited To Reunite With Walker Kessler On Lakers

A signing that went under the radar for the Los Angeles Lakers was guard Collin Sexton, who figures to give them a much-needed scoring punch off the bench. Last season, L.A. struggled mightily to find production in their second unit,…

Austin Reaves Congratulates Knicks On Winning NBA Championship

This past season in the NBA featured the New York Knicks winning their first championship since 1973. Now, the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to recreate something similar around Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. New York traded for or signed…

Collin Sexton Discusses How He Got ‘Young Bull’ Nickname

Heading into the 2026-27 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of new faces and one of them Collin Sexton, who was added in free agency to be a potential spark plug off the bench. Over eight years in…

Lakers Rumors: Robbie Avila Considering Return To College

The Las Vegas Summer League was a great experience for the Los Angeles Lakers as they made it to the semifinals before ultimately losing to the Golden State Warriors. There were some intriguing names on the roster to follow, including…

Lakers Video: Gordon Hayward Shares Story Of Working Out With Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant became one of the most prolific scorers ever during his 20-year career, commonly being compared to Michael Jordan. The one thing about Bryant is that he never lost confidence, no matter how well he…

Kevon Looney Is Cousin Of Another Former Lakers Player

As Kevon Looney joins the Los Angeles Lakers, it appears he already has some ties to the organization. Looney played with Nick Young on the 2018 Warriors, winning their first championship together. That had to have been extra special for…

Lakers News: Sandro Mamukelashvili Reveals Reason For Picking No. 54

The Los Angeles Lakers went into this offseason with the most cap space in the league and they were quick to target players in free agency. One of those was power forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is coming off a solid…

Lakers Players Internally Believed LeBron James Would Sign With Warriors

While things didn't end how they wanted it to due to injuries, the Los Angeles Lakers saw flashes of what Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James could achieve together. But, unfortunately, they never saw it come together in the…

Former Lakers Guard Kobe Bufkin Signs Training Camp Deal With Pelicans

Roster turnover happens in today's NBA, but the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves on the extreme side of things this offseason, navigating life without LeBron James and embracing Luka Doncic as their franchise player. This meant catering a roster around…

Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant Is Kevon Looney’s Favorite Player

Reconfiguring the center room was a checklist item for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason and they did so by acquiring Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade and signing veteran Kevon Looney to a one-year, veteran minimum deal. Looney won three championships…