Jake LaRavia was the first free agent Rob Pelinka successfully pushed to join the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2025 offseason. After a hot start with his new team, the 24-year-old has become somewhat of an afterthought during his recent stretch of performances.
At the beginning of the year, it really did look like the Lakers nailed each and every one of their big-time additions, including LaRavia, Deandre Ayton, and Marcus Smart. With the sample size growing, that has no longer been a clear-cut case for Los Angeles.
Ayton continues to shine for the Lakers. That much remains a positive. However, Smart has hit the shelf with an injury. LaRavia, meanwhile, has just flat out disappeared into the background for Los Angeles.
Jake LaRavia's strong start has lost its sizzle for the Lakers
LaRavia came out of the gates swinging for the Lakers. His first 10 games for Los Angeles were so good that the immediate thought was questioning how the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings could not unlock the impactful contributor that he was.
LaRavia averaged 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game during that stretch. The Lakers wing was shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc in his 29.8 minutes per game.
With the Lakers getting healthier, his playing time has shrunk. The new lineup combinations that LaRavia has been a part of have not served him well either. The team has kept winning, but the man who looked like a free agency steal is growing less and less important to those results.
During his last 10 outings with the Lakers, LaRavia has only averaged 6.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.9 steals in 21.5 minutes per game. The efficiency has taken a brutal hit too, with him shooting just 38.1 percent from the field, and a woeful 28.6 percent from 3-point land.
LaRavia's numbers on the season have balanced out to solid, but far less impressive that the initial impression that was being left. The question now becomes: Which player should the Lakers expect moving forward?
The answer is probably somewhere in between, as the overall statistics would suggest.
LaRavia has proven capable of stepping up when needed. However, as the JJ Redick and his staff continue to figure out the long-term rotations for the Lakers, Pelinka's prized free-agent signing has wavered in his overall importance for the bigger picture in Los Angeles.