Player Grades: Lakers vs. Wizards

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 111-88 win over the Wizards.

Was that the Lakers winning a game comfortably? In 2025? Well isn’t that a fun change!

It wasn’t dominant from start to finish and there were times when it teetered on being a frustratingly close game. But this is what taking care of business looks like overall.

Considering where the vibes were after losing to the Clippers and the game that awaits them on Thursday, a performance like this could not have come at a better time. This had trap game written all over it and the Lakers responded like a group of professionals.

It seems simple, but few things have been simple with these Lakers this season.

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.

Rui Hachimura

26 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 4-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT, +13

One of my favorite small things in an NBA game is a well-executed backcut and Rui is so good at them. Watching him cut down the baseline and receive a pass from Anthony Davis or LeBron James has been one of the simple pleasures since he joined the team.

Grade: B-

LeBron James

36 minutes, 21 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 8-18 FG, 2-6 3PT, 3-3 FT, +19

LeBron can’t quite get up the way he did in Miami or even in his second stint in Cleveland, but he still has the hops when he needs to or wants to. And he wanted to on Tuesday.

I’m not sure the Lakers can trade for Jonas Valančiūnas after that.

Grade: A

Anthony Davis

32 minutes, 29 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 14-22 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-1 FT, +20

Maybe it was because LeBron had the big highlight on the night or the triple-double, but AD kind of went under the radar with a near 30-15 game.

Tuesday was AD’s fourth game with at least 25 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. The rest of the league has five total and no one has more than one.

Grade: A+

Max Christie

31 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2-7 FG, 1-5 3PT, +22

Offensively, that was a rough outing from Max. On top of not making shots, he turned the ball over twice and had a couple more near turnovers.

But defensively, he was the primary defender on Jordan Poole, who went 5-18 from the field and 4-12 from range. So, he still did his job.

Grade: B-

Austin Reaves

36 minutes, 16 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 4-15 FG, 1-8 3PT, 7-7 FT, +18

LeBron and AD playing well hid the fact that this was a really inefficient shooting night from Reaves. He got to the one enough to finish with respectable enough numbers, but he can’t do this on Thursday against Boston.

Also, it might be time to not throw LeBron a lob on every fastbreak and made take a layup or two, bud.

Grade: B-

Dorian Finney-Smith

22 minutes, 16 points, 2 rebounds, 6-8 FG, 4-6 3PT, +3

This was pretty safely DFS’ best game since he joined the Lakers. He knocked down some long-range efforts, had some nice hustle plays and was active defensively.

Head coach JJ Redick revealed pregame that he was battling an ankle injury that had him on a minutes restriction. However, those restrictions are being loosened and, hopefully, that means DFS can really find his way.

Grade: A+

Gabe Vincent

25 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3PT, +1

A pretty quiet night from Vincent. His one make was a high-arcing 3-pointer to put the third quarter buzzer. Outside of that, he didn’t do much.

Grade: C+

Jaxson Hayes

19 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3-3 FG, 2-3 FT, +3

Hayes has one thing he does really well and when he can fly through the sky, it looks great. If he can add a couple blocks, that’s found money.

Grade: B+

Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Trey Jemison

Interestingly, Knecht only played eight minutes, which probably isn’t a great sign about where he’s at right now. Bronny and Jemison were strictly victory cigars on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s DNPs: Shake Milton, Cam Reddish

Tuesday’s inactives: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Armel Traore, Christian Wood, Christian Koloko, Jarred Vanderbilt

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.