Jake LaRavia Never Missed a Game. This Season He Needs to…

By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Thursday, September 24

Jake LaRavia showed up every single night last season, the only Laker who did. What the Lakers got in return was steady, unspectacular, and worth exactly what he was paid — now the question is whether steady is enough on a team chasing more.

Jake LaRavia of the Lakers — Jake LaRavia. Photo: SneakinDeacon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Never Off the Floor

LaRavia played all 82 games last season, logging 25.1 minutes a night in the frontcourt rotation with Walker Kessler, Kevon Looney, Jarred Vanderbilt, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Arthur Kaluma. He is not on the injury report entering camp. He also played a disciplined floor game, averaging 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks against just 1.1 turnovers, numbers that show up in winning lineups more than box scores. That kind of availability and care with the ball is its own value on a roster this expensive, a body the coaching staff can count on when others can't answer the bell.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The box score was modest: 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from deep on three attempts a game. His true shooting sat at 57.1 percent, his usage at 13.8 percent — a role player's ledger. The number that stands out is the 0.0 net rating: with LaRavia on the floor, the Lakers scored and allowed points at the exact same rate, 116.1 each way. He kept games level. He rarely tilted them.

The Value Play

LaRavia is signed for $6.0 million in 2026-27, a rounding error next to the money committed to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. That price makes him the kind of depth the front office can carry without blinking, even with the payroll already in taxpayer territory. The verdict for this season is simple: durability alone won't be enough. LaRavia needs his net rating to climb off zero and into positive territory, needs those catch-and-shoot threes to fall more often than one in three, and needs to be a plus next to Doncic rather than a wash. A strong camp would also set up the bigger contract he plays for next.

How many games did Jake LaRavia play last season?

All 82, the most of any Laker, at 25.1 minutes a night.

What is Jake LaRavia's salary for 2026-27?

He is set to earn $6.0 million this season, one of the smaller deals on the roster.

By the Lakers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.