Originally published by LakersNation.com
Jake LaRavia had among the most uneven 2025-26 seasons of anyone on the Los Angeles Lakers. In the campaign’s first 39 games — through Jan. 15 — LaRavia averaged 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game on 46.8% from the field and 35.3% from deep. None of those numbers are particularly special, but he was a consistent two-way role player for L.A.
From Jan. 17 on — the final 43 games of the year — he fell off a cliff, averaging 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals on 44.6% from the field and 27.9% from deep. He went from averaging 27.6 minutes per game in the first half, to 23.0 minutes in the second half to 14.3 minutes in the playoffs and was a DNP coach’s decision in the final two games. With that said, LaRavia had a clear offseason mission this offseason: to get his confidence back.
“Yeah, this summer was a summer reflection and intentionality for me,” LaRavia said at Lakers Media Day. “I think the way that…the second half of the season last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it. And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen.
“So this summer, a lot of it was just mental reflection for me and working on that side of the game. And then the other thing was just working on my jump shot because that was, I think, the biggest thing. I’m going to come out every game, I’m going to play hard. I’m going to play defense. I’m going to crash and I’m going to rebound. But consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me. So that was definitely the main thing that I focused on this summer was just being consistent with my jump shot and just working on that. So now we see.”
One focus for LaRavia this season is to stay more even-keeled whether he’s playing well or not.
“Yeah, as any season goes, there’s highs and lows,” he added. “And sometimes when you ride the wave on the highs a little bit too much, the lows feels a lot worse. And I think that’s kind of what it was. When you’re not intentional about what you’re bringing to the game, each and every game, it’s a long season. Once you’re kind of feeling comfortable with how well you’re playing, you kind of forget what happens and how you’re supposed to respond when you hit adversity.
“So the main thing that I’m focused on this season is just kind of being at one level, regardless of the highs or lows. We’re in the meeting, RP said something about something Kobe had said, where it was like, ‘when you’re getting the praise, ignore it. And when you’re getting the hate, ignore it. You just need to ignore everything that comes your way and just stay focused on being yourself.’”
The Lakers need LaRavia to be back to the version of him that played the first 39 games of last season to reach their ceiling. Consistency at the wing spots are going to be vital for L.A. given their lack of star power, and LaRavia at his best is among the better two-way players on the roster.
Hopefully, whatever troubles plagued the second half of his season are in the past, and he’s ready to go back to being a strong contributor on both ends of the floor.
Lakers valuing continuity moving forward
One of the biggest critiques of the Rob Pelinka era in Los Angeles has been how often the roster undergoes massive changes. They have never — in his tenure — kept the bulk of a team together for more than two consecutive seasons, making it hard for players like LaRavia to find rhythm with one another.
But they say they are entering a new era, where continuity will be valued now that they have built a team specifically designed to work with their superstar in Luka Doncic.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
Jake LaRavia had among the most uneven 2025-26 seasons of anyone on the Los Angeles Lakers. In the campaign’s first 39 games — through Jan. 15 — LaRavia averaged 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game on 46.8% from the field and 35.3% from deep. None of those numbers are particularly special, but he was a consistent two-way role player for L.A.
From Jan. 17 on — the final 43 games of the year — he fell off a cliff, averaging 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals on 44.6% from the field and 27.9% from deep. He went from averaging 27.6 minutes per game in the first half, to 23.0 minutes in the second half to 14.3 minutes in the playoffs and was a DNP coach’s decision in the final two games. With that said, LaRavia had a clear offseason mission this offseason: to get his confidence back.
“Yeah, this summer was a summer reflection and intentionality for me,” LaRavia said at Lakers Media Day. “I think the way that…the second half of the season last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it. And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen.
“So this summer, a lot of it was just mental reflection for me and working on that side of the game. And then the other thing was just working on my jump shot because that was, I think, the biggest thing. I’m going to come out every game, I’m going to play hard. I’m going to play defense. I’m going to crash and I’m going to rebound. But consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me. So that was definitely the main thing that I focused on this summer was just being consistent with my jump shot and just working on that. So now we see.”
One focus for LaRavia this season is to stay more even-keeled whether he’s playing well or not.
“Yeah, as any season goes, there’s highs and lows,” he added. “And sometimes when you ride the wave on the highs a little bit too much, the lows feels a lot worse. And I think that’s kind of what it was. When you’re not intentional about what you’re bringing to the game, each and every game, it’s a long season. Once you’re kind of feeling comfortable with how well you’re playing, you kind of forget what happens and how you’re supposed to respond when you hit adversity.
“So the main thing that I’m focused on this season is just kind of being at one level, regardless of the highs or lows. We’re in the meeting, RP said something about something Kobe had said, where it was like, ‘when you’re getting the praise, ignore it. And when you’re getting the hate, ignore it. You just need to ignore everything that comes your way and just stay focused on being yourself.’”
The Lakers need LaRavia to be back to the version of him that played the first 39 games of last season to reach their ceiling. Consistency at the wing spots are going to be vital for L.A. given their lack of star power, and LaRavia at his best is among the better two-way players on the roster.
Hopefully, whatever troubles plagued the second half of his season are in the past, and he’s ready to go back to being a strong contributor on both ends of the floor.
Lakers valuing continuity moving forward
One of the biggest critiques of the Rob Pelinka era in Los Angeles has been how often the roster undergoes massive changes. They have never — in his tenure — kept the bulk of a team together for more than two consecutive seasons, making it hard for players like LaRavia to find rhythm with one another.
But they say they are entering a new era, where continuity will be valued now that they have built a team specifically designed to work with their superstar in Luka Doncic.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
