Jake LaRavia may be the Lakers’ most low-key offseason addition, but his first press conference in purple and gold turned out to be anything but forgettable. The 23-year-old forward, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers this week, could barely contain his excitement after the news broke. He immediately took to his Instagram account to send a message to his new fans. “LAKESHOWWWWW!” he wrote. “Hope Lakers fans as excited as I am. Let’s work.” And he isn’t the only one thrilled by the move. The real emotion of the moment was happening behind the scenes.
In his first press conference as a Laker, LaRavia pulled back the curtain, revealing a lesser-known family connection to Los Angeles that made his signing a full-circle moment for his entire family. “My dad’s super excited. He grew up here,” LaRavia explained. “Pasadena was where me and all my brothers were born. But yeah, my dad’s super excited – he was a big fan of Magic growing up, so when he got the news he was on the verge of tears… Don’t tell him I said that.”
So, LaRavia may be a fresh face for Lakers fans, but he and his family have roots in Southern California. That personal connection added an emotional layer to what was already a major career move. His father, Jeff, finally gets to see his son wear the same jersey that once defined Showtime.
For LaRavia, the decision to sign with the Lakers wasn’t just about coming home; it was also about finding the perfect basketball fit. And according to him, his new head coach, JJ Redick, has already laid out a clear plan for how he’ll be used. “We were kind of just talking about my role on the team,” LaRavia said of his initial conversations with Redick. “He knows I’m a high IQ player, can shoot the ball. He knows that I, you know, can complement the players like Luka and LeBron very well.”
It’s a role he feels he was born to play. “I was trying to decide which team was the best fit, where I could see my role expanding… I think as far as the way the team is set up, I’ll fit right in.” And fit might be exactly what he does.
LaRavia, who averaged 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists across 66 games with Memphis and Sacramento last season, also shot an impressive 42.3% from beyond the arc and 47.5% overall. At 6-foot-7 and entering his fourth year in the league, he brings size, shooting, and versatility—three traits that Lakers head coach JJ Redick is expected to prioritize.
He’ll be wearing jersey No. 12 in L.A., the number most recently worn by Max Christie. No. 33, his previous number (previously adorned by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) is off-limits due to retirement, and No. 3 now belongs to Anthony Davis. It’s a number with some history—Vlade Divac, Dwight Howard, and Shannon Brown have all worn it—but it’s a fresh start for LaRavia.
The Indiana State product knows the stakes. He’s not promised a starting spot or even a regular rotation role yet. But the Lakers believe in his potential, and he’s betting on himself.
Jake LaRavia plans to grow alongside LeBron and Luka
As he settles into his new city, Jake LaRavia is focused on one thing: learning from the two best players on the planet. He knows that playing alongside LeBron James and Luka Dončić is a rare opportunity, and he’s determined to make the most of it. “They got great players here—LeBron and Luka—and just being able to play side by side with them and learn, you know, a lot of things from them and just being able to complement them as the players that they are,” he said.
He has a very clear understanding of what his role will be. “You know, I’m playing with guys like, like I said, Luka and LeBron that, you know, see the court so much differently than a lot of guys in the NBA, and I think I complement those type of players, those high IQ guys,” he explained. “Just being able to space the floor, you know, cutting. I feel like I’m just going to get so many easy buckets playing with these guys.”
He even admitted that he’s already envisioned what it will be like. “I think they’re just going to—I think they’re going to make my life easy,” he said. “They have so much gravitational pull on the court, and I’m just going to have like wide-open threes or wide-open layups.” But for LaRavia, it’s about more than just offense. He’s committed to being a two-way player, a guy who can be trusted on the defensive end of the floor.
“I think defensively, that’s been my main focus since I got to the NBA,” he explained. “My rookie year, I was the guy where, you know, playing against Luka even, he’s the one calling me up trying to get me switched onto him. So I take pride in my defense now, especially—taking the toughest matchup or anything like that.” That attitude has already endeared him to his new team.
His teammate, Austin Reaves, immediately took to Instagram to welcome him, writing, “Welcome to LA my guy.” And GM Rob Pelinka gushed about the signing, saying, “Jake is a high IQ two-way player with ideal skills for a JJ Redick basketball system… we think Jake has significant basketball upside.”
Sep 25, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka at press conference at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
And now, alongside one of the game’s greatest minds in LeBron James, LaRavia wants to learn everything he can. “I plan to ask him a lot of questions,” he said. “Not even just about basketball, but what he’s doing off the court to help benefit him on the court. And he’s the guy to ask in this league. So very excited to be playing alongside him.” It’s a clear, defined plan from a player who is ready to embrace his role and help the Lakers win.
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