Throughout the season, veteran forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been in and out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation. His defense and energy that he is known for has given the team a boost at times, but his offensive shortcomings still limit his overall impact.
But even though he hasn’t seen the court too much recently, Vanderbilt is still starring in an extremely important role for this Lakers team. From the looks of it, Vanderbilt has been designated as the overseer and protector of superstar guard Luka Doncic:
Jarred Vanderbilt's really got Luka's back 😭🤝 pic.twitter.com/uZLk9skoq2
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) March 17, 2026
As can be seen, Vanderbilt is following closely as Doncic speaking to officials at halftime of the Lakers’ recent victory over the Houston Rockets. While not doing anything overtly, you can tell that Vanderbilt is watching to ensure that Luka doesn’t cross the line and potentially pick up a technical foul.
This isn’t the first time Vanderbilt has been noticed doing something similar. During the Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors a couple of weeks ago, a video circulated of a brief argument between Doncic and head coach JJ Redick on the Lakers’ bench.
While it didn’t last long, there was clearly a little tension between player and coach that could have escalated into something bigger. But when Luka stood up, seemingly to go confront Redick after he walked away, Vanderbilt stood up immediately to block his teammate’s path with the guard choosing to just sit down. And the entire incident quickly blew over after that.
Something like this shows the importance of having true veterans on the roster. A role like this could probably be assigned to a rookie, but they likely wouldn’t get the respect or really understand certain situations in the way that Vanderbilt does. He isn’t over the top with anything, but is always around, making sure Doncic doesn’t boil over and that makes him very important for the Lakers even when he isn’t getting regular minutes.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic just one technical foul away from suspension
That role of Vanderbilt is even more important for the Lakers as Doncic recently picked up his 15th technical foul of the season. This puts him just one technical away from drawing a one-game suspension, so Vanderbilt will undoubtedly be lingering even more carefully in hopes of preventing Luka from crossing that line and being forced to miss a game.
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