Jarred Vanderbilt was once a critical role player on a Los Angeles Lakers team that made it all the way to a Western Conference Finals appearance. Improving his corner 3-pointers should allow him to reclaim that status in the 2025-26 NBA season.
A recent ESPN article from their group of NBA insiders pointed out a very important fact. No one in the NBA creates more quality looks from the perimeter for his teammates than Luka Doncic.
ESPN wrote, “Doncic has generated the most corner 3-point attempts of any passer in the NBA throughout his career, according to GeniusIQ.”
What’s the problem with that? As currently constructed, the Lakers do not have a strong group of players to take advantage of that.
ESPN added, “The Lakers don’t have many [shooters] on their roster. Among members of their projected rotation, Rui Hachimura and backups Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht are the only players who have made their corner 3s at an above-average rate over the past five seasons.”
Offensive impact will allow for Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense to shine
The majority of Vanderbilt’s value will be found on the defensive end. That is perfectly fine and as expected. His defensive capabilities will always be what forces an NBA coach to look in his direction off the bench.
Reliably giving Vanderbilt minutes has been tough in the seasons following the Lakers’ run in 2023. That is due to a couple of major reasons.
The most obvious one would be his troubles with injuries. Vanderbilt has been limited to 65 regular-season games over the last two NBA campaigns due to a variety of ailments plaguing him.
Marc Stein offered hope earlier in the offseason that the Lakers forward is trending towards a change in that regard. Stein reported that Vanderbilt is ‘healthier now than he was at any point last season.’
The other major reason is his lack of offensive firepower. That is where adding the corner 3-point shot to his arsenal could pay major dividends.
Vanderbilt struggled in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The versatile forward could only muster 1.4 points, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and missing all of his looks from distance.
Defenses have been more than satisfied with leaving Vanderbilt wide open from the arc when the Lakers forward has floated to that area of the court during offensive possessions. Punishing them for that space at a passable rate would truly be the difference.
According to Basketball Reference, the league average for 3-pointers was 36.0 percent during the 2024-25 season. If Vanderbilt can provide even 33 percent in the upcoming campaign, there will be plenty of reason for him to be a prominent part of the bench in 2025-26.
