Jake LaRavia has made a nice addition to the Los Angeles Lakers as the versatile forward does a little bit of everything on both sides of the court.
LaRavia signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers in free agency and that already looks to be a bargain as he’s served an important role off the bench for head coach JJ Redick. While LaRavia’s slowed down a bit in recent weeks, he’s shown he can hit an open jumper, keep the basketball moving and compete on the defensive end.
Besides his on-court abilities, LaRavia also seems to fit in with the rest of the guys as each player has spoken highly about the camaraderie in the locker room. The Lakers have made it a point to host bonding events throughout the regular season, and they recently held a pickleball tournament that got pretty competitive.
Ultimately, LaRavia won the tournament with assistant coach Beau Levesque and the team recently released the highlights:
The teams were mixed between the players and the staff in order to create some competitive balance. Players like Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James are seen participating in the first few shots, with Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and LaRavia making cameos.
Head coach JJ Redick is shown speaking in the next clip and revealed that the tournament was competitive, with clips of the games playing in the background. The video flips over to Doncic who trash talks Redick’s performance while the latter jokes he carried his teammate.
Doncic is then seen poking fun at his partner for being strictly a power player before the championship match between him and LaRavia starts. LaRavia impresses in the game by making a few tough shots, including a lunging save that just stayed inbounds.
The regular season can be a slog, so it’s good to see Los Angeles breaking up the monotony with a little friendly competition. LaRavia and the rest of the players seemed to be enjoying their time on the pickleball courts and hopefully that helps keep them mentally fresh the rest of the way.
LeBron James pleased with what Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia have brought to Lakers
LeBron James doesn’t have to carry the load as much this year since he has Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to lean on. However, James also made sure to recently shout out Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia for what they’ve brought to the Lakers.
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