The Los Angeles Lakers made a handful of moves during the 2025 offseason, but the ones that caught the most eyes of the fan base were the signings of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, both of whom were acquired after buyouts. Flying under the radar was the two-year, $12 million signing of Jake LaRavia, and he's proven to be far better than his value so far.

LaRavia got off to a hot start at the beginning of the season with LeBron James sidelined, notching a pair of 25+ point games and exciting Lakers fans about what he could bring to the table. He'd slow down after that, but is starting 2026 off strong with back-to-back 20-point games as the Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies yet again on Sunday night.

Tied with LeBron James for the team's second-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic (36 points), head coach JJ Redick spoke to LaRavia's performance and what he's preached to him over the season.

"I think particularly, in that first half, his aggressiveness and confidence was really good for us. The thing that we've tried to really instill and coach him on all season is 0.5 decision-making, being catch-and-shoot ready. If you are attacking any close outs and you have an advantage, maintain the advantage, and both of those things require confidence and aggressiveness," Redick said.

LaRavia led the team with a +15 plus-minus and converted all four of his attempts from the free throw line.

"Just a fantastic game from him, another good game from him defensively as well, with deflections and being disruptive," he added.

Rui Hachimura will not be joining the team on their upcoming two-game road trip, meaning that LaRavia will continue to have an opportunity to prove himself to the team. If he can be consistent on offense while bringing value defensively, Redick and his staff will have a tough decision to make on whether or not to keep LaRavia in the starting lineup when Hachimura returns.

As we've seen this season, LaRavia has been productive in spurts, so he'll need to prove he can be a factor across multiple games, such as keeping it up through the two-game road trip. The Lakers still need to make moves, but LaRavia becoming a key piece to this team will help solve some problems in the meantime.

The Lakers' road trip starts off on Tuesday, with an 8:00 p.m. EST matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.