Jarred Vanderbilt Identifies Areas He Can Help Lakers In

Jarred Vanderbilt finally made an impact in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-87 win over the Los Angeles Clippers last week after sitting out the first four games of the regular season.

The veteran forward did not score in his 21 minutes of action, but he pulled down seven rebounds (two offensive) and finished as a plus-22, one point shy of Collin Sexton’s game-high.

The Lakers had struggled on the glass prior to Vanderbilt’s 2026 debut, and he believes rebounding is one area where he can immediately elevate the team, via Khobi Price of the California Post:

“Just the rebounding aspect, the physicality aspect,” Vanderbilt responded of the areas he can help the Lakers after Friday’s shootaround ahead of the Lakers’ road game against the Warriors. “Whether that’s boxing out, securing rebounds, finishing possessions. Obviously on the offensive glass, too. Just putting pressure on the rim and offensive glass, two areas I feel like I could contribute to.”

Vanderbilt knows he brings a specific edge to the floor, playing with a level of urgency that forces his Lakers teammates to match his effort:

“Even when I get out there, obviously just flying around and causing chaos, crashing the boards and kind of propelled [Quentin Grimes] and Collin [Sexton to] start picking up full court,” Vanderbilt said. “Jake [LaRavia] started crashing. It’s contagious when everybody’s boxing out. You don’t want to be the one guy that’s not boxing out and your man gets the rebound. So it kind of puts that pressure on everybody to just lock in, box out and do all the dirty work that’s required.”

Vanderbilt only cracked the rotation against the Clippers due to a depleted Lakers lineup, but he made the most of his opportunity. The 27-year-old clearly earned the trust of head coach JJ Redick, who went right back to him for 12 minutes of action in the team’s next game against the Golden State Warriors.

While it remains to be seen if Vanderbilt will hold a permanent spot in the Lakers’ rotation, expanding his role makes a lot of sense given Kevon Looney’s early-season struggles.

JJ Redick likes playing Jarred Vanderbilt with Sandro Mamukelashvili

After the Lakers’ win over the Clippers, Redick praised Vanderbilt’s effectiveness when sharing the floor with Sandro Mamukelashvili.

“Yeah, it was good,” Redick said. “I think we had (Vanderbilt) on Lopez. He did a great job. We showed a clip a halftime of fronting him in the post and not allowing him to get the basketball. Vando is always gonna play hard, he’s always gonna impact the game with just his effort. I thought he did that tonight. The pairing with Mamu is probably the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and play-make.”