“I Know My Job”: Jarred Vanderbilt Embraces Defensive Anchor Role as Dončić Lifts Lakers Higher

Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers grabs the rebound against Jack McVeigh #58 and N'Faly Dante #3 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Jarred Vanderbilt may be coming off the bench now, but his role as a defensive anchor is the same as it was a couple years ago.

The Los Angeles Lakers big man continues to be the team’s top defensive force, posting a 110 defensive rating for the season—the top mark on the Lakers. By comparison, the team’s overall defensive rating is 114.7, ranking 15th in the league. While Vanderbilt may not be in the starting lineup anymore with LeBron James, he’s still playing the same amount of minutes per game (16.1) as he did during their Western Conference Finals postseason run in 2023 (16.7 minutes per game).

Same Role, New Look Lakers

“My approach to the game doesn’t change,” says Vanderbilt in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his partnership with Beyond Meat. “I know my job is pretty much the same regardless, but I’m starting to come out and provide that energy and be that defensive anchor for our team. I don’t think that changes.”

The Lakers are obviously in a different position than they were a couple years prior when Vanderbilt was acquired from the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline. Outside of the obvious change in star players, going from Anthony Davis to Luka Dončić, Los Angeles is entering the playoffs as the third seed.

A couple years prior, they snuck in as the seventh seed and had to win a play-in game just to get into the postseason.

They’ll enter their series against the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves with home-court advantage and as the favorites.

“We obviously have a different team than we did two years ago,” says Vanderbilt.

“We have a lot of guys that are versatile and can play a lot of different positions and I think we’re a deeper team than we were back then. Just continue to do what I can for my team to help us keep winning.”

The Dončić Effect

The Lakers are 15-9 with Dončić in the lineup and the 26-year-old star has completely dominated since his arrival. The 6-foot-6 point guard is averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. Los Angeles also went from being the fifth seed to being the second seed in the Western Conference since the Dončić trade.

Dončić has made the Lakers a better team, with 43.2% of their attempts being from beyond the arc (third in the NBA) since the trade. By comparison, they ranked 26th with just 35.8% of their attempts coming from the three-point line.

“He’s just a great player,” says Vanderbilt. “He has a high IQ. He’s able to take the game and make plays and see plays that very few people can see or make, and he just makes the game easier for everybody around him. We started to feed off of him as we adjusted to playing with him these last couple months, been able to get more chemistry with him going into the playoffs. It’s been great.”

As noted before, the Lakers have become a better and more reliant team on three-point shots, which has resulted in more wins. It’s no secret that the NBA is a three-point shooting league, and the defending champions happen to be the Boston Celtics, who are the top three-point shooting team in the league. The Celtics also have three players who rank in the top 10 in treys.

Vanderbilt previously played for the Jazz, Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. In other words, he’s played with the likes of Jamal Murray, Anthony Edwards and Collin Sexton.

The 6-foot-8 power forward details how you can play “many different ways” with Dončić running the point.

“With him, you can play many different ways,” says Vanderbilt. “We could slow it down or we can play at a fast pace. He kind of goes at his own pace, just being able to play off of him and play around him, his play style.”

Lessons from LeBron

While the impact of Dončić is undeniable, the Lakers wouldn’t be where they are without the continued greatness of LeBron James. The 40-year-old continues to play at a high level, coming off of a season averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. Vanderbilt is in the midst of his third season playing with the greatest player of this generation.

“It’s been great,” says Vanderbilt of playing with James. “Being able to learn and be around and be teammates with one of the best players to ever play, and just watching him each and every day, it’s been inspiring. He’s been—even at this age—leading our team ever since I’ve been here. Just being able to watch his approach and how you take care of yourself, how you approach the game, super dope.”

The biggest thing Vanderbilt has learned from James is his leadership skills and how he prepares himself for each game, especially considering he’s in the midst of his 22nd season.

“I would say more of his is leading by example, what he does each and every day to prepare himself,” says Vanderbilt.

“That speaks more than anything. Just watching him do what he does each and every day to prepare himself, recover, all that stuff.”

While it was a surprise the last time the Lakers made a deep playoff run, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did it this season with arguably the league’s hottest duo in James and Dončić. The Lakers have the fourth-best betting odds of any team to win the NBA Finals.

The goal this season is to win the championship, says Vanderbilt.

“For sure,” says Vanderbilt. “That’s what we all compete for. That’s the one common goal at the end of the day, hold up a championship. Everybody in our locker room and organization, that’s what we’re competing for.”

Outside of winning a championship, Vanderbilt also has some individual objectives, including making an All-Defensive Team and winning Defensive Player of the Year.

“I would say making an All-Defensive team, or winning Defensive Player of the Year are some goals as well,” says Vanderbilt.