Jake LaRavia finished the 2024-25 season among the most efficient shooters in the NBA, burying 42.3 percent of his three-point field goals. A year later, however, his jumper fell apart as the Los Angeles Lakers forward buried a mere 32.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
As the Lakers look for the best possible fit for the final spot in the starting lineup, LaRavia will decide his fate by answering a simple question: Which season was a fluke?
LaRavia played just 70 games between his first two NBA seasons, which is why he's such an enigma at this stage of his career. He played 66 in 2024-25, however, which is why many were confident in his ability to sustain his shooting.
In addition to the fact that he shot above 40 percent on 2.2 three-point field goal attempts per game, he overcame a mid-season trade to shoot 38.5 percent or better with both of the teams he played for.
Unfortunately, a third in two years proved detrimental. He not only shot 32.1 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season, but buried just 28.6 percent of his attempts during the playoffs. That's inevitably soured many on his quality despite his other contributions to the team.
The question is: What exactly went wrong for LaRavia in 2025-26 and how can he prove that it was the 2024-25 campaign that's truly in line with who he is as a player?
Was 2024-25 or 2025-26 the real Jake LaRavia?
One factor that should be considered is that LaRavia played all 82 games in 2025-26 after appearing in 36 in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and 66 in 2024-25. He also played a career-high 25.1 minutes per game. Perhaps there was thus something of a learning curve as his body adjusted to a more demanding schedule.
One can hope that LaRavia can further improve his fitness and thus have less tired legs late in games—a development that could go a long way toward resolving his issues.
It's difficult to know if that's actually an issue, however, which makes conversations about what did and didn't work between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons the key focal point. For instance, LaRavia shot 43.9 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2024-25. That number fell to 32.2 in 2025-26.
33.8 percent of LaRavia's total shot attempts in 2024-25 were catch-and-shoot threes, which is 6.0 percent lower than the 39.8 percent ratio from 2025-26.
Lakers must give Jake LaRavia more touches to develop a rhythm
That seems to point to one of the key differences between his success in 2024-25 and his shortcomings in 2025-26. LaRavia played far more with the ball in his hands before he came to the Lakers than once he joined them.
That's evident in the fact that he averaged 4.2 assists per 36 minutes in 2024-25 and 2.5 in 2025-26. He also averaged 27.8 front court touches per 36 minutes in 2025-26 compared to 30.8 in 2024-25.
Furthermore, LaRavia averaged 2.31 seconds per touch in 2024-25 to 2.17 in 2025-26. Though the differences aren't necessarily extreme, they point to the fact that his offensive role in Los Angeles was more limited than it was in Memphis and Sacramento.
With that established, the path to LaRavia rediscovering his efficiency as a shooter may very well depend on how well JJ Redick incorporates his other skills into the offense.
Jake LaRavia should benefit from stability in his role
It's one of the facets of basketball that too often gets glossed over. Yes, there are elite catch-and-shoot specialists who can go from no touches at all to burying a flurry of threes. For those whose specialty isn't shooting, however, getting into a rhythm can require different things.
LaRavia may very well be the type of player who needs the chance to handle the ball and explore other facets of his game in order to develop a rhythm as a shooter.
Furthermore, LaRavia's role was constantly changing a season ago. The Lakers endured a wide range of injuries and he thus effectively split his time between the starting lineup and the second unit, with 43 starts in 82 appearances. If the Lakers can more clearly define his role in 2026-27, he may benefit from simply having stability in his usage.
Whether he's a starter or a reserve, the key to maximizing LaRavia's impact and declaring the 2025-26 season a fluke appears to be giving him more touches, a more stable role, and a chance to be a playmaker again.
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