Deandre Ayton’s arrival in Los Angeles has brought tons of positives on the court. In a basketball sense, he’s been a near perfect fit as a pick-and-roll partner for all of the Lakers’ ballhandlers, whether
it’s Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves or LeBron James.
He’s brought enough physicality defensively to pair with his rebounding, giving the Lakers the legitimate center option they did not have post-Anthony Davis trade last season.
But he’s also brought some incredibly funny moments off the court, too.
Ayton is quickly flying up the rankings of the funniest players in the league, a quality about him I, along with most Lakers fans, presumably, did not know he had when he came to LA. His pressers this summer were the appropriate amount of serious and focused, considering where he was in his career and the opportunity he had.
After proving himself on the court to start the year, his personality started to really shine in his postgame or practice or shootaround media scrums. Sunday was one of the finest examples of his very deadpan, unpredictable delivery in postgame interviews after the Lakers’ win over the Sixers, a victory that featured some vintage LeBron James down the stretch.
It was a perfect instance, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think Ayton was being rude to reporters. However, there’s a track record of him doing this type of stuff all season, which more shows how comfortable he’s become in Los Angeles.
It was a movie, guys.
This certainly isn’t the first time Ayton’s done this and it may not even be his funniest moment either. On the team’s last notable road trip, Ayton was feeling pretty good after the team ended it with a win in Milwaukee.
Now, if the Lakers weren’t winning, I could see how this type of attitude would be frustrating. That probably played into things ending on a sour note in Portland, for example.
And I’m sure Ayton has learned that he has to produce at a certain level if he wants to have this much fun. These interviews coming after wins is not a coincidence.
Having said all that, he’s winning in LA, producing at a high level and being hilarious in these interviews. It’s really the perfect combination to immediately make him a fan favorite, which he’s become just barely 20 games into his first season in the purple and gold.
Assuming the Lakers keep on winning — which doesn’t seem likely to change — and that Ayton keeps producing, then we could be in store for a treasure trove of hilarious moments going forward this season.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
