Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Jaden Hardy is a fairly enigmatic figure with an unclear spot in the rotation. The competition along the wings is fairly strong, particularly with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves locked in as high-volume starters. Thankfully, Hardy has a signature skill that can't be ignored: A certifiably elite jump shot.
If the Lakers put Hardy's shooting to use, then the game will get significantly easier for Doncic as he navigates wider driving lanes and faces fewer double teams.
Hardy, 24, spent the better part of his first four NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. He even played two-and-a-half years alongside Doncic. He was sent to the Washington Wizards ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, however, and was later traded to the Lakers for Deandre Ayton.
The Ayton trade seemed to center around draft capital, as Los Angeles acquired a pair of future second-round picks, but Hardy's shooting could make him an X-Factor in 2026-27.
Hardy is a career 38.6 percent three-point shooter with averages of 1.4 conversions per game and 3.3 per 36 minutes. That could make him the perfect player to replace free agency departure Luke Kennard and even offer the contributions he struggled to as far as volume is concerned.
It's the fact that Hardy is one of the absolute best shooters in the NBA when left wide open, however, that could have the greatest impact on Doncic.
Jaden Hardy punishes defenders for cheating off of him
Hardy buried an absurd 44.6 percent of his three-point field goals when defenders left him wide open in 2025-26. That put him in the top 35 in the NBA. For perspective: The only two Lakers who cracked that list were Kennard and Rui Hachimura.
Though both were excellent in that regard, it's worth noting that Doncic only played 690 possessions alongside Kennard this past season, per Cleaning the Glass.
Hardy, meanwhile, spent multiple seasons as Doncic's teammate in Dallas. As such, there's built-in chemistry. That makes the fact that Hardy shot 40.2 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2025-26, as well as 37.9 percent on 1.2 pull-up attempts per game, quite relevant.
It's not just that Hardy knows what it's like to play with Doncic, but that he has elite efficiency when defenders cheat off of him and when playmakers find him for scoring opportunities.
Luka Doncic is the perfect player to make cheating defenders pay
With Hardy's proficiency established, Doncic will face two potential benefits. For one, defenders cheating off of Hardy will create passing lanes that Doncic, one of the NBA's most lethal drive-and-dish playmakers, should be able to readily exploit.
The other potential outcome is that help defense will have to come from other areas of the floor, meaning Doncic will have even more time to read and react to what the defense is giving him.
It's also worth noting that Hardy shot 42.0 percent from beyond the arc when he and Doncic shared the court in Dallas. That's a promising sign for what he could do in 2026-27, when the Lakers will undoubtedly prioritize optimal spacing with a two-headed monster at guard that consists of downhill players in Doncic and Reaves.
Hardy still needs to address concerns about his defensive inconsistency, but his shooting could be a cheat code that unlocks even more of Doncic's superstar efficacy and efficiency.
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