Lakers’ Jake LaRavia Has Surprising Response to Leading NBA in Fouls

The veteran forward is having a bit of trouble trying not to stay out of foul trouble this season.

Oct 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; NBA non-binary transgender referee Che Flores (91) talks with Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Lakers are riding high ahead of Sunday’s contest against the Phoenix Suns. 

The Lakers hold the NBA's best record at 11-2, tied with the San Antonio Spurs, and are on a seven-game winning streak. 

Los Angeles has a great chance to improve that to eight in a row in what will be their first matchup against the Suns this season. 

The Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the league, but they're far from perfect. Their defense, which has improved, could still get much better. Personal fouls are certainly an area of improvement for the Lakers. 

Jake LaRavia Isn't Concerned About His High Foul Numbers

Los Angeles commits a high number of personal fouls, and leading the way in that category is Jake LaRavia. As a team, the Lakers rank 24th in personal fouls with 23.4 and LaRavia is responsible for 14% of them with 3.5 fouls per game. 

After Saturday’s practice, LaRavia admitted he’s well aware of being among the league leaders in personal fouls this early in the season; however, he said he doesn't plan to change much. 

“Leading the league,” LaRavia said when asked about his fouling troubles this season.

“I’m leading the league in fouls; I think I’m being pretty effective, so I'm going to continue to do what I’ve been doing, to be honest. I do play a little aggressively."

LaRavia did say he’ll be a little more conservative when defending jump shooters. 

“The one thing that I can change is not fouling jump shooters because that’s another one that I lead the league in, so being a little less handsy and just forcing tough shots, not getting my hands involved so much.

“I'm going to stay aggressive, I’m going to stay physical, and defense is just one of the things that makes me impactful on the court. At some point, that’s just going to be who I am in this league, and the refs are not going to call fouls.” 

How Many Fouls Does Jake LaRavia Have?

In total, LaRavia has 43 fouls through 12 games.

LaRavia has fouled out one time this season and tied his season-low of 2 fouls on Wednesday against the Bucks. 

Jake LaRavia is leading the league in fouls; however, he's not going to change a thing about it. pic.twitter.com/crf1r9uwL0

— Ricardo K Sandoval (@_RicardoSand) November 14, 2026

He missed the first game of his Lakers tenure earlier this season with a right ankle sprain he suffered in the season opener. 

In the season, LaRavia is averaging 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 48% from the field.

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