Jake LaRavia Embraces 'Summer of Reflection' to Revitalize Lakers' Season

Lakers forward Jake LaRavia is entering his second year with the team with a revamped approach, aiming to build on an offseason dedicated to "reflection and intentionality." This shift comes after a 2025-26 season that saw personal highs followed by a significant slump and a diminished role in the playoffs.

LaRavia, 24, had established himself as a key contributor for the Lakers in the first half of the 2025-26 season. He played a career-high 82 regular season games, started more than half of them, and accumulated significant playing time. His two-year, $12 million contract, signed in the 2025 offseason, appeared to be a valuable acquisition for the franchise.

However, his performance declined in the latter part of the season. LaRavia's three-point shooting faltered, dropping to 26.2% in the final 23 regular season games. His offensive aggression also decreased, coinciding with his shooting struggles. This dip in performance led to a reduction in his playing time during the playoffs, including two DNP-CDs in the Lakers' second-round sweep.

"This summer was a summer reflection and intentionality for me," LaRavia stated. "The second half of the season last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it." He emphasized the importance of maintaining professionalism on a high-profile stage and the need to address this aspect of his game.

In addition to mental adjustments, LaRavia specifically targeted his jump shot. "The other thing was just working on my jump shot because that was the biggest thing. I’m going to come out every game, I’m going to play hard. I’m going to play defense. I’m going to crash and I’m going to rebound. But consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me."

These efforts appear to be yielding positive results during the Lakers' preseason. LaRavia has been a consistent performer, averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. Notably, he is shooting 53.8% from three-point range on 7-of-13 attempts, a significant improvement attributed to tweaks in his shooting form. He collaborated with Lakers coach JJ Redick, known for his shooting prowess, and assistant coach Beau Levesque during the offseason.

"Jake had a really nice base and foundation to shoot with, so it wasn’t like he was completely revamping his shot," Redick commented. "It was small tweaks. And ultimately the tweaks don’t matter if they don’t give you confidence. And so I feel like he’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence right now, and he feels confident in his shot."

LaRavia acknowledges that shooting slumps are a natural part of an 82-game season but expresses confidence that his physical and mental adjustments will lead to more consistent outcomes. His focus has shifted from the results of his shots to the process. "One thing that kind of changed for me this year was focusing more on the input rather than the output," LaRavia said. "So not really focused on my makes or my misses, but am I doing everything in my control to give myself the best opportunity to make the shot? So as far as the output goes, I’m not really concerned about how many shots I’m making right now because at some point I’m gonna also miss shots. But as long as the input stays the same, then I’ll be consistent."