Deandre Ayton Reveals Lakers’ Secret Trick Behind His First Double-Double Night

LA Lakers center Deandre Ayton recorded his first double-double with the Purple and Gold in their 127-120 win against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. He spoke to the media after the game, revealing a secret trick that propelled him at the Golden 1 Center.

The 27-year-old credited his teammates for helping him. He finished the game with 22 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

“They have their own little thing to get my head on,” Deandre Ayton said. “… [Austin Reaves] is my guy. Luka is my guy. But my wings and my forwards, yeah, they be trying to get me ticked off before these games, just to get me rolling.

“I’m starting to see a trend because I don’t get a break until we’re on the court, then it’s all seriousness,” he added. “I’m like, ‘Oh, so this a thing y’all want to do. Y’all want to get me on edge. Y’all want me fired up.’ I like it, man. You’re teammates starting to know me. I haven’t had that in a while. Dudes really care.”

Deandre Ayton joined the Lakers after spending two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. In his debut game with Los Angeles against the Golden State Warriors, his performance (10 points and six rebounds) was called out by members of the media and fans.

The Lakers without the injured Luka Doncic were led by Austin Reaves, who recorded a career-high 51 points. He added 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers won consecutive games for the first time this season.

Deandre Ayton speaks on his debut struggles

Deandre Ayton addressed the media after he struggled during his debut against the Warriors.

"Today I was realizing, I'm probably a confusing big," Ayton said. "Where I can roll or stand in the pocket. It probably gets a little difficult for them sometimes. I'm so used to the league having that low man on me, sometimes I can't even finish a roll and, a tiny bit, linger around the free throw area just to be available for him.”

“There's times I can finish my roll,” he added. “You got to play some more and play against some more great teams like how we did tonight to really see what's the common coverage for these teams, really trying to put us on their personnel what they got on us."

Ayton was brought to the Lakers to fill the void left by Anthony Davis. In his defense, he will need time to acclimatize to his new teammates and surroundings.

Next for the Lakers is a home game against Ayton’s former team, the Trail Blazers on Monday.