The Los Angeles Lakers have a surplus of players capable of posting gaudy statistics. Chief among them are Luka Doncic and LeBron James, who continue to set the standard for all-around statistical contributions from perimeter players.
Every great team has players whose impact is more significant than what the box score shows, however, and Dorian Finney-Smith has powerfully emerged as that player for the Lakers.
Finney-Smith is a more than capable shooter, burying 1.8 three-point field goals on 39.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc in 2024-25. He's also one of the better offensive rebounders on the team, pulling down 1.4 per game and 1.8 per 36 minutes.
What Finney-Smith brings to the table, however, is more than just what the numbers illustrate—even if they do paint a solid picture of some of the areas he helps in.
Finney-Smith is the proverbial glue guy, filling in the gaps and keeping the team running as a cohesive unit. He doesn't require a significant number of touches to determine his effort on defense, nor does he seem to question the need for engagement on offense if the ball continues to go elsewhere.
Doncic, Rui Hachimura, James, and Austin Reaves have given the Lakers four players capable of scoring with volume, but it's Finney-Smith who has ensured that everything comes together.
Dorian Finney-Smith is the ultimate Lakers glue guy
Finney-Smith has made the type of impact on the Lakers typically reserved for an All-Star. The team's all-around improvement on defense directly coincides with his arrival, and the advanced metrics emphasize how valuable he's been.
Across a sample size of 26 appearances and 712 minutes played, the Lakers are outscoring opponents by an absurd 14.0 points per 100 possessions with Finney-Smith on the court.
By comparison, the Lakers are being outscored by 0.1 points per 100 possessions when he isn't. In other words: Los Angeles is bordering on breaking even without their glue guy and absolutely demolishing teams when he's present.
One of the primary reasons Finney-Smith has managed to help the Lakers dominate is the simple fact that he can be plugged in no matter who's on the court with him.
Finney-Smith first experienced success in a Lakers rotation that was built around interior force Anthony Davis. He's since gone on to become the perfect fit for a perimeter-oriented team led by Doncic, with James and Reaves acting as invaluable constants.
The key to Finney-Smith transitioning so seamlessly between systems and franchise players has been his uncanny ability to fill in the blanks on both ends of the floor.
The 31-year-old has thrived as a floor-spacer, offensive rebounder, on-ball defender, and off-ball communicator. As a result, the Lakers rank in the 96th percentile in net rating, the 87th percentile in offensive rating, and the 95th percentile in defensive rating with Finney-Smith on the court, per Cleaning the Glass.
Finney-Smith's stat lines may not leave the world in awe, but he's transformed the way the Lakers play on both ends of the floor.