DeAndre Ayton Opens Up On Accepting A Lesser Role With The Lakers

Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers dealt Anthony Davis to acquire Luka Doncic, and as a result, they landed a massive star, but opened up a massive hole on their roster at the center position. That led the team to exploring the free agency market, and after being bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, they landed former No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton.

This comes after some major years of struggle to find consistency at the NBA level, and with his arrival in Los Angeles, many expected him to figure things out and finally start living up to his potential. However, with the likes of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, his role needed to be adjusted, and now, he's opened up on how he was finally able to do just that to bring the best out of this overall roster.

“I just started looking in the mirror and said ‘Yo bro,… you’re not that guy. You don’t need to be on this team doing that at all. This team, you came here to be the effort guy.’”

This season, Ayton has averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds a game, and when he focuses on simply playing his role, he's been highly effective for the Western Conference's No. 3 seed.

Only time will tell whether or not this talented team can make an impact in the NBA Playoffs, but with Ayton adjusting his role around three stars, there's a very good chance that this team can go deep in the post-season in 2026.