Surprising Player Grades Reveal Who Truly Dominated Lakers vs. Warriors Showdown!

When the NBA’s schedulers penciled in this clash, I doubt anyone imagined the patchwork lineup that unfolded Saturday night. With Luka Dončić sidelined nursing a pesky hamstring and both Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler out as well, the marquee matchup lost much of its star power. That left Austin Reaves—still restricted in minutes—and LeBron James facing off against Draymond Green and, believe it or not, Pat Spencer. Not exactly the blockbuster showdown fans were salivating for. Still, the Lakers, despite their struggles throughout, managed just enough to fend off the Warriors and secure the victory. Moments like these remind us: cherish every LeBron-versus-Steph — they don’t come around forever. Ready to break down the gritty win and hand out some grades? Let’s get into it. LEARN MORE.

When the NBA made the schedule, they probably had a much different game in mind than the one that played out on Saturday.

On one side, Luka Dončić was out after a recent hamstring injury while, on the other side, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler both were out. That left Austin Reaves, who was still on a minutes restriction, and LeBron James against Draymond Green and…Pat Spencer?

It wasn’t exactly the star-studded showdown everyone had hoped for.

The Lakers weren’t great for much of the game but did enough to hold off the Warriors and come away with the win. Perhaps this should serve as another reminder to cherish every LeBron and Steph meeting we have left.

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.

LeBron James

35 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7 turnovers, 1 foul, 6-17 FG, 2-7 3PT, 6-7 FT, +7

While we should cherish the games, we should also probably forget this one. A really bizarre LeBron game where he was bad in the first half, fantastic for the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, then faded away again.

Grade: D+

Rui Hachimura

28 minutes, 18 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 7-10 FG, 4-5 3PT, -6

This has been a gradual process, but we’re now at the point where, when Rui gets the ball swung to him for an open three, everyone just expects it to go in.

Grade: A-

Jaxson Hayes

20 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, 0-1 FT, -6

It wasn’t an awful return for Hayes, but I still haven’t forgiven him for a dumb decision to tackle the Wizards mascot. And his explanation was pretty awful, too.

Jaxson Hayes apologized to his teammates and the Wizards mascot for the incident leading to a one-game suspension. However, he explained that the shove was prompted by his foot being stepped on by the mascot. pic.twitter.com/vXHPsxG4RY

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 8, 2026

Grade: B

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Jake LaRavia

27 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-5 FG, 0-3 3PT, +2

It’s pretty clear at this point that LaRavia is going to mix in some stinkers like this with his scoring outbursts. Reaves will likely move into the starting lineup soon and it seems pretty clear LaRavia will be the one going to the bench.

Grade: D

Marcus Smart

33 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 8-9 FT, +7

The Lakers had a hole for a lead ballhandler who went to the foul line a bunch. Smart stepped into the void and got to the line often.

Grade: B+

Austin Reaves

24 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 6-7 FT, -1

It wasn’t quite as big of a scoring night as Thursday, but it also felt like he made more than five field goals, too. I guess every one of his field goals was a highlight play on Saturday. The Lakers looked significantly better with him on the floor.

Grade: A-

Jarred Vanderbilt

19 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-4 FT, +11

If Vando makes multiple threes, you almost certainly got a great game from him, which was the case on Saturday. He went toe-to-toe with Draymond Green at times and held his own. It was a really good rebounding night from him, too.

Grade: A

Luke Kennard

26 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, +4

A very encouraging debut for Kennard, who immediately showed his value to the team with his first touch as a Laker. As his comfort level and knowledge of the Lakers system grows, I expect his production will, too.

Maxi Kleber

28 minutes, 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, +12

After a standout game against the Sixers, Kleber parlayed it into another strong showing against the Warriors. The stats show a bit more of what he did in this contest, the biggest being him again leading the team in plus-minus.

Grade: A+

JJ Redick

Redick is really trying all he can defensively to get something out of this group. But even then, the Warriors were “breaking down” the zone defense with one pass leading to an open look from three. I also have to imagine that there was plenty of discussion about the Warriors and their offensive system, but just about every player on the court allowed a backdoor cut leading to a basket.

This team is just really, really bad defensively and I’m not sure how much blame I can place on Redick for that.

Also, he gets credit for not playing Gabe Vincent.

Grade: B+

Saturday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr.

Saturday’s inactives: Luka Dončić, Adou Thiero, Chris Mañon, Deandre Ayton

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.