Coming into his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers, there wasn’t much expectation for Jaxson Hayes aside from being an energy big man off the bench. But with the team trading away Anthony Davis, Hayes suddenly found himself with an opportunity to step into a much larger role and he has taken full advantage of it.
Hayes is the exact type of center who thrives next to Luka Doncic, setting screens, rolling hard to the rim and finishing everything at the basket. But he has also shown great improvements as a passer and is capable of switching out on the perimeter defensively while doing everything he can to hold his ground inside against the top bigs in the league.
Now in this home stretch of the regular season, and with the playoffs fast approaching, the Lakers will be reliant on Hayes to continue his strong play and the big man is looking forward at the chance to prove himself on the biggest stage.
“I just view it as opportunity to make a name for myself, an opportunity to go win some games and win a ring,” Hayes said. “And I just look at it as I gotta come in locked in every day and just try to make the most out of every day, be the best version of myself.”
There is little doubt that Hayes will give everything he has, but he also must remain locked in. Hayes is one of many Lakers who can sometimes get too focused on the officials when calls aren’t going their way and head coach JJ Redick recently spoke on the need of Hayes to lay off, something the big man is working on.
“It’s been a very big topic of discussion, and it’s something I’m trying to work on,” Hayes added. “Obviously I play with a lot of passion and I’m a very passionate player and very energetic player. So sometimes I get on the refs when I feel like they miss ‘em, but I gotta remember they’re human too and gotta just focus on the game, focus on myself. So that’s been a big point of emphasis for us and just leaving them alone and focus on myself.”
Role players are extremely important in the playoffs and can often decide the outcome of series. Hayes is one of the most important for the Lakers and he understands how important this opportunity is for his career and will do everything in his power to deliver and help the Lakers make a deep run.
Lakers’ LeBron James credits Jaxson Hayes for improvements
The importance of Jaxson Hayes is not lost on his Lakers’ teammates either and LeBron James recently gave the big man a ton of credit for stepping up when the team needed him to.
James praised Hayes for stepping into the starting center role and recognizing that he alone can’t replace everything that Anthony Davis brought to the table. Instead, Hayes has just focused on being the best version of himself and that has been massive for the Lakers overall.
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