Remember before the season started, when Deandre Ayton said that joining the Los Angeles Lakers was "the biggest opportunity" of his career? It had fans hopeful that a new version of him would show up in LA, since he understood the gravity of the moment. Well, about that. It's taken a little longer than expected (okay, a lot longer), but he seems to have finally gotten it.
Ayton told Dan Woike of The Athletic that he has at long last bought into what the Lakers need from him (subscription required):
“And I’ve completely … I bought in. Completely, like 110 percent. I hope you see the work.”
The center had some tough conversations with himself to reach that point of understanding about his role.
“I just started looking in the mirror and said ‘Yo bro, … you’re not that guy. You don’t need to be on this team doing that at all. This team, you came here to be the effort guy and close out possessions, rebound. Run the damn floor hard as hell, make bigs work, make superstars work."
This is the Ayton that Los Angeles wanted to show up at the beginning of the season. No one should have expected him to jump right into his new role and excel from the start, but it shouldn't have taken months for him to adjust and reach this conclusion.
Deandre Ayton, the Suns’ former No. 1 pick, calls coming to the Lakers “the biggest opportunity of my career”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 29, 2025
Better late than never, though, right?
Lakers need this version of Deandre Ayton to stick around
Now, everyone in Los Angeles hopes that Ayton's mindset shift will stick, and that he won't go through another phase where he doesn't want to be Clint Capela-ish. He can still be DominAyton — just in a different way than he initially thought when he first referred to himself as that.
He may not be the superstar he wishes he could be, but his supporting cast role is almost as important. Ayton is the X-Factor that the Lakers need to show up, not just to finish out the season, but particularly in the playoffs. After winning nine out of the last 10 games, this is very much a team that can make a postseason run.
There is a ton of value in being a rim-running big who is active on the glass and protects the paint, and not just because it's helped elevate LA to the level it's on. Ayton's career is on the line. His ugly breakups with the Suns and, most recently, the Trail Blazers left little hope for his NBA career.
Signing with the Lakers gave him a prime opportunity to change the narrative. To stay in the league, you have to adapt. In Ayton's case, less is more.
It's been quite the journey to get to where Ayton is now, but as long as he doesn't forget to remind himself in the mirror who he is now (preferably three times a day), both he and the Lakers will be better because of it.