The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired a player whom analysts are revering as a breakout candidate for the 2025-26 season: Jake LaRavia. LaRavia flew under the radar in 2024-25, but his quiet emergence as a 3-and-D wing with offensive versatility appears to have turned enough heads to warrant newfound hype.
The result of LaRavia's quiet emergence was a new contract with the Lakers and praise as one of the more subtlely brilliant signings of the summer.
LaRavia, 23, was selected at No. 19 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies declined his fourth-year club option, however, which made him eligible for free agency in 2025—a development that HoopsHype believes Memphis could soon come to regret.
[Michael Shearer of HoopsHype](https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/2025/09/05/seven-breakout-candidates-nba-2025-26-brandon-miller-jake-laravia/85987360007/) recently listed LaRavia as one of the seven players primed for a breakout season in 2025-26.
"LaRavia will likely slot in as a high-minutes backup wing who can play anything from the two to the four. That flexibility should help him earn plenty of court time for a Lakers team that’s still rather top-heavy."
The jury is still out on how LaRavia will mesh with his new teammates, but there are few who deny how perfect the fit is on paper.
HoopsHype heralds Jake LaRavia as breakout candidate for 2025-26
----------------------------------------------------------------
Injuries played a significant role in Memphis' controversial decision to decline LaRavia's club option. He appeared in just 70 games between his first two seasons, inevitably struggling to find consistent form as he shot just 38.9 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from beyond the arc.
2024-25 seemed to reveal what LaRavia is capable of when healthy, however, as he turned in a career-year while appearing in 66 games for the Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.
LaRavia posted respectable averages of 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 offensive boards, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 three-point field goals made in just 20.4 minutes per game. That translates to 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.4 offensive boards, 1.7 steals, and 1.6 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes.
Compounded by his impressive improvement in the realm of efficiency at .475/.423/.678, LaRavia showcased intriguing two-way potential.
LaRavia shot 43.9 percent on catch-and-shoot threes, as well as a commendable 35.7 percent on pull-up attempts. That includes an impressive mark of 45.0 percent on threes from above the break, which should appeal to the Lakers' surplus of slashing playmakers.
LaRavia also showcased the ability to operate as a point forward, thus implying he could add yet another layer to the Lakers' playmaking efforts.
The question mark facing LaRavia is how consistent his peaks on defense can become. He showed flashes of brilliance in that regard in 2024-25, playing with impressive intensity and a clear understanding of when to enter the passing lanes.
If LaRavia's defense proves consistent and his offense continues to take shape in the way it began to in 2024-25, the projection of a breakout season will be validated.