LA Lakers backup center Jaxson Hayes is excited about his growing relationship with superstar teammate Anthony Davis and is looking forward to shoring it up further in the upcoming NBA season.
The six-year big man out of Texas talked about his connection with Davis following the Lakers’ practice on Saturday, highlighting how he looks up to “AD” as a mentor and basks in the opportunity to learn from him.
The 24-year-old Hayes said:
“Yeah, that’s like my big brother… I’ve known them for a good amount of time this whole summer… We both push each other to be better every day… Obviously whenever you can get in a game with somebody like that it’s gonna bring more attention to them. So it opens up more stuff for myself or just for us to get into other actions…”
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Check out what he had to say below:
Jaxson Hayes joined Davis and the Lakers last season after spending four years with the New Orleans Pelicans. In his first year with the purple and gold, he was a steady part of the team’s rotation off the bench, averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game in 70 appearances.
Hayes has played in all of the Lakers’ preseason games to date, producing 6.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 19.1 minutes per game.
The Lakers (1-2) next play against the Golden State Warriors at home for their penultimate preseason game.
Jaxson Hayes excited to play for former teammate-turned-coach JJ Redick
Big man Jaxson Hayes enters his second year with the LA Lakers this season, his first under former teammate and new coach JJ Redick.
Hayes and Redick played together for two seasons in New Orleans. Hayes said having his former teammate as his coach was a bit “weird” but something he is excited to explore in the upcoming season.
Jaxson Hayes shared on media day last month (via Lakers Nation):
“It’s definitely a little weird at first, for sure. Coming into my rookie year, he was one of the guys I looked up to. He was one of my teammates. We were in the same group that would come in and play together and we’d play two-man game… So it’s definitely been a little, not awkward, but weird, the dynamic. But I’m fully looking forward to it this year and really excited about it.”
Redick took over the Lakers’ coaching reins from Darvin Ham. He now looks to improve on the team’s showing from last season, where it went through the play-in phase to earn a playoff spot before being eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the opening round.