Lakers’ Jake LaRavia Makes Exciting Announcement Ahead of New Season

Sep 29, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA: Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) during media day at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

New Los Angeles Lakers signing Jake LaRavia has made an exciting announcement prior to the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.

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LaRavia took to his Instagram Stories over the weekend to announce that he and his fiancee Taja McLean, founder and co-president of Ivy Sales Club, had finally tied the knot on Saturday (via Lakers All Day Everyday).

Congrats to Jake Laravia! He got his ring 💍 pic.twitter.com/LhrX66tupz

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) September 29, 2025

The LaRavias first announced their engagement in a joint Instagram post, at the street where they first met in Toronto, 22 weeks ago.

"Thank You God, Where Our Story Began Another Chapter Continues 💍 Mr And Mrs LaRavia Loading," LaRavia wrote at the time.

During an interview on ESPN LA's "Sedano and Kap," LaRavia revealed how his love story ties in directly with the start of his NBA journey.

He sat next to Taja on a flight to Toronto in preparation for a workout with the Raptors. They didn't talk then, but she ran into him the very next day in the city.

“I saw her the next day downtown,” LaRavia said. “She ran up to me and said, ‘Oh, you were on my flight.’ She was doing a work scavenger hunt and needed a picture with me.”

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After spending his first three pro seasons out of Wake Forest with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, the 23-year-old combo forward inked a two-year, $12 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception deal to join the Lakers this summer.

The 6-foot-8 pro, who was actually born in Pasadena, split his 2024-25 season between Memphis and Sacramento, averaging a cumulative 6.9 points on .475/.423/.678 shooting splits, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 steals per.

LaRavia and 26-year-old center Deandre Ayton seem to very much align with the timeline of 26-year-old All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic, more so than 40-year-old All-NBA forward LeBron James.

LaRavia's Ceiling in Los Angeles

John Hollinger of The Athletic believes that LaRavia, a 37.1 percent career 3-point shooter on 2.7 triple tries per (albeit in just 18.9 minutes), is well-positioned to expand his game and really become a long-term piece for Los Angeles — should he be able to level up a bit on the hardwood.

"He’s only 23, and in his best moments, he’s a big ballhandler who can make open shots (37.1 percent career from 3) and set up teammates with live-dribble passes. He’s also been a pesky ball thief (2.2 steals per 100 possessions last season)," Hollinger writes.

"Can he be a long-term starter, a potential answer to one piece of what a post-LeBron future might look like in L.A.? Or is he just a guy, in scouts’ terms, somebody who can play 20 relatively inoffensive minutes a night but won’t have value as more than a back-of-rotation forward?" Hollinger, a former executive with the Grizzlies (although he returned to a media job long before they drafted LaRavia), notes. "After struggling to blast his way through a deep lineup in Memphis, he’ll have plenty of chances to answer those questions one way or another this season for a Lakers team that needs him to succeed."

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.