Player Grades: Lakers vs. Spurs

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 120-115 win over the Spurs.

The Lakers opened their defense of the most prestigious trophy in basketball on Thursday by remaining unbeaten all-time in the NBA Cup, even if it required an MVP performance.

Anthony Davis had perhaps the best game yet of his remarkable season so far, outdueling Victor Wembanyama for a second straight meeting between the two. It the type of dominance you’d expect from Davis going up against a smaller frontcourt and he delivered.

But there were a number of strong performances on the night from the starting lineup and bench combined.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Anthony Davis

36 minutes, 40 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 14-26 FG, 2-4 3PT, 10-12 FT, +12

MVPs aren’t won in October and November, but first impressions are everything. A month into the season, AD is the MVP and this was his finest performance yet. Dropping 40 points on Wemby one game after he dropped 50 is a pretty big statement with a lot of people watching.

Grade: A+

Dalton Knecht

26 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 6-11 FG, 2-4 3PT, -9

Getting the start in place of Rui Hachimura was Knecht, fresh off his strong showing against the Grizzlies. It wasn’t quite the performance he had against Memphis, but it was still a really good one.

He’s not just a shooter in this offense, either. He scored on a backdoor cut as well. The more comfortable he gets, the more dangerous and dynamic this offense looks with him on the floor.

Grade: A-

LeBron James

38 minutes, 15 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, 6-12 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-4 FT, +3

What a weird game from LeBron, who was just coasting along to a triple-double. The truly odd part of his game is that he basically just stopped scoring for most of the second half.

He scored with 9:31 left in the third quarter, then didn’t score again until the cutting layup with 25 seconds left. Part of it was feeindg AD, but a lot of it felt like he just wasn’t aggressive.

And then there was the seven turnovers. It just wasn’t a great night for LeBron despite him recording his fourth-straight triple-double. What does that average out to?

Hopefully that means he has some extra juice in the tank against the Pelicans.

Grade: B+

Cam Reddish

19 minutes, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, -16

Is the Cam Reddish train derailing already? It was a really rough showing from him on Thursday, which coincided with the fewest minutes he’s played since the Pistons game.

His only fourth-quarter minutes came to an end when he challenged Wemby at the rim. Yeah, that’s fair.

If other players like Max Christie (more on him shortly) are playing well, it becomes a lot harder to play Reddish.

Grade: D+

Austin Reaves

32 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-12 FG, 5-9 3PT, 2-2 FT, -8

It was a nice night from Reaves, who was efficient and had a couple of nice finds, including an important one late to AD.

He had a couple of clutch plays in the fourth quarter. There’s a certain skill to being able to have an average night and then produce in the clutch, and Reaves very much has that.

Grade: A-

D’Angelo Russell

30 minutes, 13 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 5-11 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, +13

It’s interesting that D’Lo has found such a rhythm only after going to the bench. His contributions aren’t limited to just offense, either, as this was arguably his best defensive game of the season.

And he’s still closing games, and it’s because he deserves to.

Grade: A-

Max Christie

30 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 4-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, +23

What a return game for Christie. After a handful of games out of the rotation, he came back with the best game of the season, without question.

This was everything fans hoped Christie would be. He knocked down a couple big jumpers in the first half, he defended at a high level and he was the perfect connecting wing.

And he did something at the rim other than jumping off two feet for a two-footed dunk! Twice! The latter of those attacks to the rim led to a swing pass and 3-pointer.

More of all of this, Max.

Grade: A

Gabe Vincent

20 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT, +13

Speaking of best games of the season, hello Gabe Vincent. With his spot in the rotation on the thinnest of ice, he responded with not just his best game of the season but maybe his best game as a Laker? I wish that was a joke.

Vincent has provided value defensively on a fairly consistent basis. He has to match that with something offensively and tonight, he did.

Grade: B+

Christian Koloko

10 minutes, 2 points, 1-2 FG, -6

There isn’t a lot to analyze here. AD had it going, so he played a ton. Koloko looked more like a guy who missed an entire season on Friday. I assume those moments will continue for a bit.

Grade: D

JJ Redick

You know a really good way for your team to build belief in your system? Seeing it produce results late in a close game.

The Lakers weren’t just running high ball screens with LeBron or Reaves late. They were going to a Horns set, cycled through multiple options and eventually scored on LeBron diving to the rim off the ball.

That’s how you get buy-in. For JJ to get the team to that point and for the system to produce that result in that moment could be a really important thing for this team moving forward.

Grade: A

Friday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Maxwell Lewis, Armel Traore

Friday’s inactives: Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Quincy Olivari, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.