It might not always show up in the box score, but Jake LaRavia has been everything the Los Angeles Lakers could have hoped for during the 2025-26 season.
LaRavia is a Swiss Army knife role player, capable of filling various roles depending on what the Lakers need on any given night. Head coach JJ Redick has effused plenty of praise on LaRavia, acknowledging the young forward has done everything he and the coaching staff have asked him to do.
As Los Angeles looks to make a late-season push into the playoffs, LaRavia will be counted on to continue to play with physicality and effort on both ends of the floor. However, the one thing that has seemingly left him is his outside shot as he’s struggled getting shots to go down.
LaRavia admitted that he isn’t having a great season shooting the basketball, but he’s remaining confident in himself and his jumper because of the work he puts in behind the scenes.
“Just shooting it to be honest. Trusting the work that I put in,” he said after practice on Monday. “Obviously, having a pretty not so great shooting year but I’m staying confident in the process and trusting in my shot. The team and the coaches and everyone knows how good of a shooter I am. It’s just when the game time comes they haven’t been falling, so just continue to trust the process and stay confident in that and shots will fall.”
On the season, LaRavia is shooting 46.3 percent from the field but just 32.2 percent from beyond the arc. He is normally afforded plenty of space to shoot as teams focus their attention on the “Big 3” of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James but as he said the attempts just haven’t gone down as of late.
Perhaps there’s some fatigue at play as LaRavia is the only player on the roster to appear in every game, so his legs might not be completely underneath him when shooting from distance.
Regardless, LaRavia remains a useful role player off the bench for Los Angeles and he should be a key part of the rotation as the end of the regular season quickly approaches.
Jake LaRavia takes pride in wearing Lakers jersey
Jake LaRavia’s return home to southern California should be considered a success so far as he’s been a valuable member of his hometown team. While some plays shy away from the bright lights in Los Angeles, LaRavia said he takes pride in wearing a Lakers jersey.
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