As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for the upcoming NBA season, one of the most unexpected storylines emerging from training camp doesn’t involve a star trade or coaching change, but rather a tale of identity, age, and perseverance.
Jake LaRavia, a promising forward now on a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers, recently revealed that a simple clerical error nearly cost him his NBA future.
During an appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast, LaRavia shared that multiple draft websites had incorrectly listed him as being 22 years old during the 2022 pre-draft process. In reality, he was only 20 at the time.
That seemingly minor discrepancy had serious consequences. Age is a crucial factor in NBA scouting evaluations, as younger players are generally seen to have more developmental upside. The mistake led some teams to overlook LaRavia, believing his ceiling was more limited due to his “older” age.
“It was shocking,” LaRavia admitted. “Just thinking that something so small could change how teams see you, it was kind of scary.”
Once his agents caught the error and corrected it with teams, everything changed. “When they fixed it, I started popping back up on draft boards,” he said. The sudden reversal gave him a second chance at a dream that could have easily slipped away.
Podcast host Ryen Russillo even joked that the situation “sounded more like something from an overseas MLB prospect than an NBA draft pick.”
From overlooked to the NBA: LaRavia’s journey
Originally selected 19th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, LaRavia was quickly traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
His rise had been fueled by standout college performances at both Indiana State and Wake Forest, where he earned a reputation as a versatile two-way player capable of scoring and defending across multiple positions.
The corrected age helped scouts reframe how they viewed his long-term potential. Rather than questioning whether he had already peaked, teams began to see him as a 20-year-old prospect with time to grow and develop.
Now, in Lakers purple and gold, LaRavia has a fresh start. He’s expected to come off the bench behind players like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, offering valuable depth in scoring and defense.
The Lakers are counting on his energy and effort during the grueling regular season, and his $12 million contract signals a belief in his potential.
For fans, his story is more than a fun fact, it’s a reminder of how fragile opportunity can be. One clerical error nearly closed the door on his NBA aspirations, but now that he’s arrived in Los Angeles, LaRavia is ready to make the most of it.
As he looks to cement a role in the Lakers‘ rotation, this once-overlooked player might just become one of the most surprising success stories of the NBA season.
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