LAKERS PRESEASON PLAYER POWER RANKINGS
WRITTEN + EDITED BY JORDYN BONTRAGER
ICYMI: The Los Angeles Lakers play preseason basketball in 26 days…
…which is crazy considering it feels like just yesterday when the Minnesota Timberwolves were completely dismantling the Lakers in the first round of last season’s playoff run…
…a playoff run which was supposed to stretch all the way to a championship showdown…
…but swiftly ended and resulted in some radical offseason roster shuffles.
While the pain of the team’s premature postseason exit earlier this year has surely subsided, this squad should certainly have a chip on it’s collective shoulders while embarking on a season-long quest for redemption. Every single dude on this depth chart has something to prove heading into the 2025-2026 NBA season:
Luka Doncic = Prove he is capable of carrying the post-LeBron torch.
Austin Reaves = Prove HE is worth the $30+ mill/year that HE/HIS agent are seeking on HIS next contract (spoiler alert: HE is).
LeBron James = Prove he still has a few star-caliber seasons left in the tank.
Jarred Vanderbilt = Prove his defensive presence best fits in the starting lineup.
Deandre Ayton = Prove the negative narratives surrounding his name to be false.
Gabe Vincent = Prove he can sustain + build on the progressive improvement he showcased throughout last season.
Marcus Smart = Prove he is not “washed”.
Jake LaRavia = Prove he can be the DFS of this franchise’s future.
Rui Hachimura = Prove he is a cornerstone-caliber player.
Jaxson Hayes = Prove the team made the correct call in retaining him.
Bronny James = Prove he is ready to shed the spotlight of his father’s name.
Dalton Knecht = Prove he is not a bust.
Adou Thiero = Prove his potential is too tantalizing to include in potential deadline deals.
Maxi Kleber = Prove he can be the floor-spacing big fella this team needs.
Christian Koloki/Chris Mañon = Prove themselves worthy of their two-way contracts.
Kylor Kelley/Eric Dixon/RJ Davis/Arthur Kaluma/Augustas Marciulionis = Prove themselves worthy of the team’s final 15-man roster spot.
With everyone bringing their own set of skills and sources of added inspiration to the table, JJ Redick will have his hands full as it pertains to deciphering the right recipe for success. In order to do so, the slick skipper will need to figure out how each of his fellas factors into a winning formula on the floor. More specifically, bro needs to rank each and every present member of the purple + gold by their significance to his idea of a winning team.
Here is a little something to help get him started.
LAKERS 2025-2026 PRESEASON PLAYER POWER RANKINGS
IN DESCENDING ORDER
1 = Luka Doncic
With all due respect to the greatest player in NBA history, it is simply a fact that he is no longer the greatest player on his current club. This franchise will go as far as Luka takes them throughout the next decade.
2 = LeBron James
Again, this slotting is meant as no slight to the King. However, Doncic supplanted LBJ as this team’s unquestioned alpha from the moment that THE blockbuster went public. But while the future destinations of this organization will be largely determined by Luka, whether or not The Finals are the final stop on this season’s journey will have more to do with if James can replicate the same unreal output from a season ago throughout his age-41 campaign.
3 = Austin Reaves
Regardless of whether or not you believe Reaves to be the league’s best 3rd option (we certainly do), you should agree that AR is definitely the NBA’s most intriguing 3rd option. Say what you want about the headband hero, but remember him hanging 45 on defensive menace Andrew Nembhard with Luka + LBJ sporting street clothes on the sidelines? If the Lakers get more of the post-trade deadline version of Reaves (21.9 PPG x 5.2 APG vs 2.4 TOPG x 4.6 RPG x 1.0 SPG x 0.5 BPG x 47.5% FG x 39.1% 3FG x 89.3% FT) and less/none of the Minnesota-series version of Reaves (16.2 PPG x 3.6 APG vs 2.8 TOPG x 5.4 RPG x 0.2 SPG x 0.6 BPG x 41.1% FG x 31.9% 3FG x 85.7% FT), banner #18 could realistically be hanging in the Crypt rafters come the start of next season.
4 = Deandre Ayton
There may never been a more glaring hole in the history of glaring holes than the glaring hole left at the Lakers’ starting center position after the AD-Luka exchange in February. Ayton’s insertion into the equation concludes that entire conversation, and if he emerges as a compatible P&R partner with the playmakers x defensive anchor in the paint this team could make a real run in the perennial ‘best team of the regular season’ race.
5 = Rui Hachimura
Rui has been a genuine X-Factor for this team since arriving in January 2023, but it seems like most have been waiting ages for his ascension into stardom. Unfortunately, anyone holding out hope for that type of leap coming to fruition might be wasting their time. Fortunately, Hachimura’s ceiling might be JUST short of that level, and he is already one of the game’s more reputable role players. At this point in his Lakers tenure, you know what to expect from Black Samurai: auxillary scoring support when the stars are active (13-14 PPG) + alpha scoring potential when they are not (19.4 PPG on sizzling 52.2% FG x 52.2% 3FG x 86.7% FT splits over the last 10 games he has played without LeBron on the court) AND steady shooting (second straight season as team’s top 3-point shooter @ 41.3% from deep). The hope is that Hachimura has the incentive of apprenticeship in what could be LeBron’s farewell tour.
6 = Marcus Smart
The Lakers have not had a guard of Marcus Smart’s nature since Alex Caruso, and we all know how critical a component the Bald Mamba’s style was to his former (and active) team’s success. If Smart can do what he has always done defensively AND hit a respectable chunk of his triple tries this year, his addition could be crowned a home run. If he could sprinkle in a dash of some of the secondary playmaking support he always has (career 4.6 APG vs 1.9 TOPG), it would be a grand slam.
7 = Jarred Vanderbilt
Vando’s combination of size x athleticism will serve him well in a Swiss Army Knife type role this season. He does NOT need to hit outside shots to stay on the court, he simply needs to continue causing chaos all over the defensive end of the floor.
8 = Gabe Vincent
While only 2/3 of the ‘Vincent-Van-Doe’ supporting cast superstar crew remains from last season’s squad, the team is undoubtedly appreciative to have at least two of the other guys back. And in the case of Gabe Vincent, the ‘25-’26 Lakers are getting their early 2000s Derek Fisher back. A guy who has never been scared to square up for a clutch shot or roll up his sleeves and get gritty on D with the final seconds ticking away on the clock. He really started to come around last year, and if he can truly turn a corner this year it could be game over the opposition.
9 = Jake LaRavia
The signs have been there through LaRavia’s opening trio of NBA seasons, and now he has the Los Angeles spotlight to show the world the dynamic skillset which is actually quite rich with potential. Turning 24 in November, JR would set his future up nicely if the Lakeshow outperforms the competition when he is on the floor this SZN.
10 = Jaxson Hayes
THIS JUST IN: Jaxson Hayes is never going to be an All-Star center in the NBA. With the obvious being stated, the 25-year-old clearly made a strong impression among Laker brass via his elite efficiency (72.2% FG would have been #1 in the league had he played enough games to qualify) and uptick in energy on the boards + around the rim.
11 = Dalton Knecht
For a rookie playing in his first professional season who endured one of history’s most unforgiving opening encounters with the business side of basketball, Dalton Knecht should have turned a ton of heads in year 1. For the record, we are all in on DK’s future and foresee him eventually evolving into an annual source of 17-23 PPG scoring. For now, he is going to have to make the most of the opportunities he receives and wait patiently for his turn at the top (which will come in time whether or not that is with us or the Opps).
12 = Maxi Kleber
When he is healthy, Kleber is a fleet-footed frontcourt option capable of hanging when switched onto some (not all) perimeter threats who once canned 41% of his 4.2 3PA/game in 2020-2021. Nobody is expecting anything crazy from the talented German tower, but imagine how much more difficult life will be for Laker opponents this season if Kleber is connecting on outside shots and making his presence felt on D.
13 = Bronny James
While Bronny was thankfully acknowledged as ‘one of the guys too good for summer league’ at this year’s summer league festivities, the soon-to-be 21-year-old probably is not ready to serve a regular role within the rotation of a championship contender. Perhaps that assumption is incorrect, and honestly we hope so. Because if Bronny James were to indeed blow up as a bonafide bench mob member this year, a lot of folks would owe homeboy an apology.
14 = Adou Thiero
The next time we see Adou Thiero playing live basketball in a Lakers uniform will also be the first time we see Adou Thiero playing live basketball in a Lakers uniform. The #36 pick missed Summer League while recovering from a lingering knee ailment, but all signs seem to indicate we will get our first glimpses of him during the preseason opener against Phoenix. His path to playing time is extremely obstructed with so much superior veteran talent ahead of him in the frontcourt, but his Jonathan Kuminga-type physique should come in handy as a plausible wildcard option to throw at opposing perimeter scorers of all makes and models.
15 = Christian Koloko
If for no other reason than continuity, Koloko certainly has a clearer chance at court action when compared with his fellow two-way companion Chris Mañon. Also, folks forget that the 25-year-old big man sat out the entire 2023-2024 season while battling through some serious health setbacks. He played admirably in 37 big league games with LA in his return to action last year, and his 7’5” wingspan makes things tough for oppositional paint dwellers + entrants.
16 = Chris Mañon
Mañon has never been one to steal the spotlight, but he has certainly always been one to steal the basketball. The 6’5” wing averaged a pair of swipes (2.0 SPG) in only 19.6 MPG across 116 NCAA contests. Do not be shocked when JJ Redick unleashes this hound to bully ball-handlers on occasion.
17 = Kylor Kelley
It never hurts to have some extra insurance in the size department, and the front office filled the final training camp spot with a familiar face in Kelley. The lumbering lefty brings a lot of energy up front, and had a few nice moments in very limited NBA action with both Dallas and New Orleans last season.
18 = RJ Davis
Davis has been one of college basketball’s most fluent scorers across the past few years at North Carolina. Now, he has a shot a roster spot with the most polarizing team in the NBA. If he is going to accomplish his mission, the former Tar Heel is going to have to make a lot of things happen in what is likely to be not a lot of preseason playing time.
19 = Eric Dixon
Dixon’s diverse array of scoring tricks + tactics translated to his finish at the top of the NCAA’s individual scoring charts at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season (23.3 PPG). Just like Davis, none of that top shelf scoring he showed off in college matters in his case for the Lakers’ final roster spot if he does not definitely distinguish himself throughout the duration of the preseason.
20 = Arthur Kaluma
Kaluma may not be as household a name as the previous combo of collegiate cookers, but he provided some impressive boosts on both ends at Summer League. It is not crazy to consider his Tari Eason-esque ceiling in terms of future potential, but he has long road ahead of him to reach that point.
21 = Augustas Marciulionis
Never been to to Lithuania, but if it’s lands are as beautiful as Augustas' Marciulionis’s playmaking in the pick + roll then we will look into deals on plane tickets. The floor general was as crafty as they come during the latter half of his quartet of collegiate campaigns at Saint Mary’s. The odds of Marciulionis making the final roster are stacked against him more than any other member of this team’s training camp roster. But nothing is impossible, and this dude is a hooper regardless of which uniform he wears next season.