LOS ANGELES — James Worthy has seen just about every Lakers iteration since the Showtime years. In his role as an analyst on the team's postgame coverage, "Big Game James" has watched this season closely, and for the first time in months he is convinced the Lakers have solved a problem that was quietly draining them.
They have stopped needing to come back.
"That's what's impressed me the most over a period of time as we've watched the Lakers over the last several months — December, January," Worthy said after a late-March win over Cleveland. "They would build these deficits and then they would have to spend a lot of energy trying to come from behind. The new Laker mentality is you start from the beginning, and you have a defensive presence, and then if you run into a tight game you can pour it on as they did in the second quarter."
The shift is subtle on paper, but Worthy's point is rooted in how much the early-season Lakers asked of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to manufacture magic in fourth quarters. Head coach JJ Redick, now in his first season on the Lakers bench, has emphasised defence before anything else — and Worthy believes the message is finally landing.
At the centre of that transformation is DeAndre Ayton, a player Worthy says has had a quiet conversation with himself about what role he needs to own every night.
"Ever since he's had a meeting with himself a few weeks back and really tried to define what it is he has to do every night — he's been there for us on occasion," Worthy said, "but I think the last month or so, he's really conjured up something that we haven't seen, and that's being present every night for his team, being physical."
Consistency on the interior has allowed Redick to stretch his perimeter defenders, and Worthy zeroed in on Jake LaRavia as a beneficiary — and a surprise. Asked what changed in LaRavia's game, Worthy credited Redick and veteran assistant Nate McMillan for reframing the second-year wing's identity entirely.
"You can tell JJ's probably been talking to him or Nate McMillan saying, 'Hey, lockdown defender. Everything else will come. He has size. He has quickness. He's not afraid to stick his nose in there,'" Worthy said. "I think he slowed Donovan down early. Didn't give him anything easy."
Worthy also waved away the idea that LeBron James, at 41, is running on fumes. The Lakers star matched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time wins record earlier this month, and Worthy's response was less surprise than admiration.
"I'm not surprised. He's doing it with a lot of spirit and a lot of energy. He's not just out there as a 41-year-old taking the leftovers. He's out in the front with energy and speed and power and force that you wouldn't see in any other player of his status at that age," Worthy said. "I've never seen an athlete quite like LeBron James still doing what he does. And he leads. When he's not leading, he'll get out of the way and will allow Luka and Austin Reaves to do their thing, and when he's called upon, he's always available. Just simple."
Worthy's highest praise went to the role players, though — specifically Luke Kennard, who had 19 off the bench the night after North Carolina's upset loss knocked his alma mater Duke out of the NCAA tournament.
"I give JJ Redick and Luke Kennard a lot of credit for coming out and having a good performance and strategy after that big upset to UConn, after their heart was completely shattered. They could come out and get 19," Worthy said. "Luke Kennard is getting used to the team more. We knew he could shoot, and we know he can do more than that. He had a little 15-footer tonight. Can put the ball on the floor, can strike with the pass. The more time he gets these last games will be good for him."
Three weeks out from the playoffs, Worthy's takeaway is simple: the version of the Lakers that had to grind out every win is gone. What replaced it is a team that plays defence first and lets the stars finish — a throwback formula, and one Worthy is quietly enjoying watching.
