Lakers' Final Starting Lineup Spot Seemingly Down to 2 Players, Says Insider

Because star forward LeBron James is expected to miss the first two to three weeks of the regular season with sciatica, the Lakers' starting five is up in the air with just days before the beginning of the regular season.

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton are all slated to start for the Lakers, but the starting power forward spot is up for grabs for two young players.

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The Athletic's Dan Woike wrote Monday that Jarred Vanderbilt is the likely replacement for James, although fourth-year player Jake LaRavia has an outside chance.

"I think the LeBron injury at the start of the year is a good chance for the Lakers to slot Jarred Vanderbilt into the first five and solve some of their point-of-attack defensive needs with a player who, when healthy, has already started for this team," Woike wrote. "Seems like it’ll either be him or Jake LaRavia."

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Vanderbilt has shown what he can contribute to the Lakers over the course of his two-and-a-half seasons with the team. His perimeter defense and his ability to guard multiple positions has made him perhaps the Lakers' best defender on the roster. His offense, however, is more of a question mark.

Vanderbilt has struggled from three throughout his career, with an average of just under 29 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, his free-throw percentage is less than desirable, shooting just under 64 percent from the charity stripe. In limited action in the 2024-25 season, averaging 16.1 minutes per game, Vanderbilt scored just 4.1 points per game, recording 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in addition.

If Vanderbilt doesn't get the expected nod in the wake of James' absence, LaRavia has potential to be a contributor from game to game, but Woike isn't convinced that he will be a complete game changer for the Lakers this season.

"I’m not sure he’s going to be the type of player where you look at his averages and think he’s had a good or bad season. It’s far more likely that you’ll look over the course of a few weeks and think about the one game where he had a handful of steals, the other where he got some key rebounds and the other where he made some key stops," Woike wrote. "One of the knocks on him is that he’s not really elite at any one thing, but as a contributor to winning, being capable (and willing) to impact the game in a bunch of undefined ways can be a real strength."

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