Jaxson Hayes Talks About What He’s…

To put it simply, when the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, star Anthony Davis was on another level. No player in history has ever recorded at least five assists and five steals in the same game, making him the eighth player in NBA history to record at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in one outing.

During the Lakers’ 11-point triumph, Davis totaled 27 points, 25 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, and three blocks. Big man Jaxson Hayes couldn’t believe what he was seeing—it was sheer dominance.

“I mean, the man had 27 and 25. That’s saying something,” Hayes said in response to Davis’ historic night. “That’s almost 30 and 30, which I’ve never even gotten close to 25 boards. He just knows the game so well and his timing on everything is so good. So he’s able to go contest, get back to the rebound and he just knows where it’s gonna be. That’s something I’ve kind of taken from him and tried to learn from him. He’s one of the best to do it right there.”

For his part, Hayes also had a strong night off the Lakers bench as he finished with nine points and five rebounds without missing a shot from the field. The fifth year big has been performing well in his reserve role lately, but is also not missing his opportunity to learn from one of the best bigs in the league.

When asked what he has learned most from Davis, Hayes said that his major goal has been to defend without fouling.

“The biggest thing for me is just the non-fouling,” Hayes added. “That’s the biggest thing we’ve been working on since I got here, just keeping my verticality.

“What he does really well is get verticality and then he gets back into the play for maybe another block or another rebound. That’s something I’m trying to work on with him, just how to get my verticality so I don’t go flying back and I can actually stay in the play. But just little things like that, his post work, his isos, his middys. Just little footwork stuff I can take from him, trying to learn as much as I can.”

While Hayes is tall and athletic, he is still relatively thin so he can be pushed back even when he is there to contest. But getting those positioning things down and footwork from Davis could really take Hayes’ game to the next level.

Hayes’ role has continued to grow with this Lakers team and Hayes is smart to learn from arguably the best big man defender the NBA has to offer. It is already paying dividends and will only continue to do so.