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Dave McMenamin: The Lakers stop the bleeding to get a much-needed win in Golden State, 129-101. Luka 26 pts 8 ast; LeBron 22 pts 9 ast; Reaves 18 pts on 7-for-11; Kennard 16 pts 3 ast; LaRavia 15 pts 5 reb; Ayton 10 reb in 20 mins.
L.A. should be at full strength when it opens up the final 28 games of the regular season schedule Friday against the LA Clippers. "Our success is going to come down to, obviously, I think our health," James said. "Our coaching staff is putting us in the right position. I think they're going to give us a game plan every night, but when it comes to what we have to work with, we have to actually go out and see it. We haven't been privy to having that opportunity much this year." And if the Lakers can get a clean bill of health down the stretch and into the playoffs? "It is hard to say," James said. "Because this is a new group. We added [Deandre Ayton], Marcus [Smart] and Jake [LaRavia] and we just got a new acquisition on our ballclub a couple games ago [in Luke Kennard]. So, it's too hard to really say what we're capable of."
Dan Woike: Jake LaRavia will play for the Lakers tonight in Chicago, the team says. Only player on the team to not miss a game this season
Dave McMenamin: Jake LaRavia is questionable for Monday in Chicago, per the Lakers
As expected, people within the Lakers organization are not happy with Paul’s comments, according to Jovan Buha, and one NBA executive ripped Paul for his comments. “I have no idea what Rich is doing,” the NBA executive told Lakers Daily. “We have never seen an agent for a star player have a podcast while that star player is still playing and say such outlandish things. Are the Lakers contenders? Hell no. But you don’t say that out loud. Now everyone on the Lakers is wondering if LeBron is saying that behind the scenes. “And the Austin-Jaren trade idea is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard anyone say. Rich is smarter than this. I don’t know why he’s doing this. You heard Jake [LaRavia] say a couple of weeks ago that there’s a disconnect in the locker room. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s referring to Rich’s comments. “Everyone knows LeBron loves Austin, so why is Rich saying this? He has ruined whatever good vibes the Lakers had. This team will never recover from this. It’s going to get ugly.”
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Dave McMenamin: After Jake LaRavia’s 21-point, 9-rebound game against MEM on Friday, LeBron James called him “sneaky athletic.” What does LaRavia think? “I don't jump a lot, but when I do jump, I think I can. I'm a fan of ‘sneaky’ athletic.”
After Jake LaRavia’s 21-point, 9-rebound game against MEM on Friday, LeBron James called him “sneaky athletic.” What does LaRavia think? “I don't jump a lot, but when I do jump, I think I can. I'm a fan of ‘sneaky’ athletic.” pic.twitter.com/UUA45fLgQv
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 3, 2026
Dave McMenamin: The Lakers start off 2026 in the win column, beat the Grizzlies 128-121 on Friday, improve to 21-11. Luka 34 pts 8 ast 6 reb 2 stl; LeBron 31 pts on 12-of-18 9 reb 6 ast; LaRavia 21 pts on 8-of-12 9 reb 3 ast 2 stl; Smart 13 pts 8 reb 7 ast 2 stl; Hayes 12 pts 2 stl
Oh No He Didn't: Jake LaRavia on LeBron still playing at a high level at 41: "It's fun to watch. He does such a great job at not only scoring baskets but also connecting and making the right play every time"
Jake LaRavia, who was acquired as a free agent in part for his three-point shooting, was 0 for four from beyond the arc. The 24-year-old is shooting a career-low 32.1% from three-point range this season despite his eight-for-15 start in the first five games of the year. “I know I’m a good shooter, everyone on the staff knows I’m a good shooter, everyone on the team knows I’m a good shooter,” LaRavia said. “At some point, I have to make shots. Obviously, been in a slump pretty much this entire season outside of that first stretch of games where I was making some. But they’ll drop.”
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Besides his on-court abilities, Jake LaRavia also seems to fit in with the rest of the guys as each player has spoken highly about the camaraderie in the locker room. The Lakers have made it a point to host bonding events throughout the regular season, and they recently held a pickleball tournament that got pretty competitive. Ultimately, LaRavia won the tournament with assistant coach Beau Levesque and the team recently released the highlights:
Could you see the writing on the wall before last season’s trade deadline? “You could see it. Even when I was there, me and Jake [LaRavia],” Smart replied. “You could see just how they were handling things, going about things. And it’s unfortunate — you’ve got some good talent over there. It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, they can get it together.”
With the Lakers down by 20 in the third quarter at Atlanta, the only sound coming from their bench was Nick Smith Jr.’s hollow claps of encouragement. The rest of the Lakers sat silently or loitered in a semicircle waiting for their coaches to join. There wasn’t much that could be said.
