Luke Kennard Is Playing 9.8 More Minutes a Night for the Lakers
Over his last 10 games, Kennard's minutes have climbed nearly 10 a night above his season mark, and whether the Lakers keep him there will decide if the jump lasts.
Luke Kennard is averaging 32.6 minutes a night over his last 10 games with the Lakers. His average for the full 2025-26 season is 22.8 minutes. That leaves a gap of 9.8 minutes between his recent stretch and his season number. A gap that size does not happen by accident over 10 straight games.
This is not one big night skewing the picture. It is a sustained stretch, game after game, of Kennard on the floor more than he has been all season. That kind of run points to a real shift in how the Lakers are using him, not a fluke.
The scoring has not caught up to the extra time yet. Across the full season, over 88 games, Kennard is averaging 8.7 points. If the extra minutes were translating into a bigger role in the offense, that season scoring number would already be climbing. Right now it is not.
For this to hold, the Lakers need to keep playing Kennard close to 32.6 minutes a night rather than treating it as a short-term fix. If they do, his season averages, including the 8.7 points and the 22.8-minute mark, should start moving toward his recent form over the rest of 2025-26.
If they do not, the last-10 number will fade back toward his season average of 22.8 minutes. Kennard's most recent game was played on May 11, 2026. Where his minutes go from that game onward will show which version of this is true.