Jake LaRavia’s improved mindset, reworked jumper is paying big dividends early this preseason

Through three preseason outings, Jake LaRavia is shooting 6-of-11 (54.6%) beyond the arc. While an 11-shot sample is far too small to project any future success, LaRavia’s willingness to shoot is encouraging. Per 36 minutes, he’s attempting 5.9 3-pointers, an uptick from last preseason’s 3.8 and a jump from last regular season’s 4.2. In the playoffs, as his playing time dwindled and jumper cratered, he averaged just 2.2 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. LaRavia’s head coach, JJ Redick, notices him operating with a level of belief necessary to be a good shooter.

“I think Jake had a like a really nice base and foundation to shoot with. So it wasn’t like he was completely revamping his shot on those small tweaks. Ultimately, the tweaks don’t matter if they don’t give you confidence,” Redick told reporters after Thursday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. “I feel like he’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence right now and he feels confident in the shot. [He had] a great summer shooting the ball, has had a great training camp of practices shooting the ball and that’s carried over to games.”

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LaRavia’s playing time dipped last postseason for numerous reasons, largely because his outside shot abandoned him and derailed much of his decision-making offensively. After shooting 35.3% from deep through Jan. 15, he made just 27.9% of his 3s over the final 43 regular-season games before netting just 2-of-7 triples (28.6%) in the playoffs.

“I think the response has been great. Obviously, he’s played really good so far. He was big for what we wanted to do last year,” Austin Reaves told reporters postgame on Thursday. “I think he has spoken about it, not shooting the ball the way he knows he can and wants to. But he told me, I think it was one of the last games of the regular season, we were just [having a] casual conversation and he just told me he was like, I’m going to get the in the gym. I’m going to be one of the best shooters on this team.”

Before struggling over the second half of the season, LaRavia was a key cog in the Lakers’ rotation behind his defense, viable floor-spacing, quick decision-making…

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Publish date : 2026-10-13 17:33:00

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